VanEck Refines Avalanche ETF Proposal With Staking Feature

VanEck is moving closer to bringing an Avalanche-linked exchange-traded fund to U.S. markets, submitting another revised registration filing as it sharpens the product’s design ahead of a potential regulatory decision.

The latest amendment to the fund’s registration outlines a more detailed operational framework, signaling that discussions with regulators are advancing. If approved, the product would be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker VAVX and offer direct exposure to Avalanche’s native token, AVAX.

What distinguishes VanEck’s proposal from earlier crypto ETFs is its approach to staking. Rather than limiting the fund to passive price tracking, the structure would allow a substantial portion of its AVAX holdings to be actively staked. This would enable the ETF to generate on-chain rewards, with Coinbase Crypto Services responsible for managing the staking operations.

By embedding staking into the fund itself, VanEck is effectively combining spot market exposure with protocol-level participation. That design introduces an additional yield component, but also creates a different risk profile compared with conventional spot crypto ETFs, which typically avoid interacting directly with blockchain networks.

Alongside the structural changes, VanEck has outlined a clear fee strategy. The proposed management fee of 0.30% is intended to be competitive over the long term, rather than relying on short-lived fee discounts to drive early inflows. This approach suggests the firm is positioning the product as a durable offering rather than a short-term market grab.

Although approval is far from guaranteed, the fact that VanEck has submitted multiple amendments suggests ongoing engagement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Repeated revisions often indicate that an issuer is responding to regulatory questions around custody, disclosures, and operational safeguards.

More broadly, the filing reflects an evolution in how crypto ETFs are being conceived. Issuers are no longer competing solely on price exposure, but are experimenting with ways to incorporate blockchain-native features into regulated investment vehicles. Whether U.S. regulators are prepared to approve that next step remains the key uncertainty.

If the Avalanche ETF is ultimately cleared, it could set an important precedent for staking-enabled funds tied to other proof-of-stake networks. Until then, the proposal serves as a test case for how far traditional ETF structures can be adapted to reflect the mechanics of decentralized networks.