VanEck Targets BNB Chain With First-Ever U.S. ETF Filing Offering Staking Rewards

Asset manager VanEck has taken a pioneering step in the crypto ETF space by filing to launch a fund that tracks Binance’s BNB Chain. The firm submitted a Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, becoming the first to propose a BNB-based exchange-traded fund in the U.S. market.

The proposed ETF would not only provide exposure to BNB, the native token of the BNB Chain launched in 2017 by Binance, but also offer investors the potential to earn staking rewards and other income—a feature rarely included in U.S.-based crypto ETFs.

Staking, while popular among crypto holders, has faced regulatory resistance in the past. Under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the agency maintained a restrictive stance toward staking in ETFs. This led to several Ethereum ETF issuers omitting the functionality from their filings. However, optimism is growing under new SEC leadership, with Chair Paul Atkins viewed as more open to staking-based products.

Grayscale recently revised its Ethereum ETF application to include staking, and hedge fund Canary Capital filed a proposal to launch a Tron ETF featuring similar staking benefits. The SEC has yet to rule on either case, contributing to delays in multiple crypto ETF timelines.

VanEck’s filing is just the first step. The firm will need to follow up with a 19b-4 submission to trigger the SEC’s formal review process and start the regulatory clock.

At the time of filing, BNB was priced at $596, up 0.27% over the previous 24 hours, with a market capitalization of $83.9 billion, making it the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.