Global asset manager VanEck has launched a US-listed exchange-traded product offering exposure to Avalanche’s native token, AVAX (AVAX), marking the first spot Avalanche ETF to trade in the United States.
According to Monday’s announcement, the product is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, though it may be subject to other US securities laws.
The fund will trade under the ticker VAVX, tracking the price of Avalanche’s AVAX token and potentially generating returns through staking. VanEck said it will waive sponsor fees on the ETF’s first $500 million in assets through Feb. 28. Assets over $500 million before Feb. 28 will be charged a 0.20% sponsor fee, which will apply to all assets after that date.
Kyle DaCruz, director of digital assets product at VanEck, told Cointelegraph that the ETF wrapper opens access to the RIA and wealth management market, as well as for institutions to capture “network yield through a standard exchange-traded product without the risk or complexity of managing the infrastructure themselves.”
Avalanche is an open-source blockchain network for decentralized applications and smart contracts that went live in September 2020 and is developed by Ava Labs, a startup founded by Cornell University computer scientist Emin Gün Sirer.
AVAX had a market capitalization of $5.1 billion at the time of writing and was trading at $11.76. The token is down about 92% from its November 2021 all-time high of $144.96 and about 69% over the past year, according to CoinGecko data.
VanEck first sought to launch an Avalanche ETF in March 2025, when it filed an S-1 registration statement with US regulators. In April 2025, Nasdaq followed with a rule-change filing requesting approval to list and trade the proposed Avalanche ETF, a required step before the product could come to market.
The fund’s launch may pave the way for additional Avalanche spot ETFs that are already in the regulatory pipeline. Grayscale Investments currently operates an Avalanche trust and filed in August 2025 to convert the product into a spot ETF, while Bitwise Asset Management submitted an S-1 registration for an AVAX spot ETF in September 2025.
Related: US Bitcoin ETFs bleed $1.72B in five-day outflow streak
Crypto ETFs expand beyond simple price exposure
According to an X post from Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, on Monday BlackRock filed an S-1 registration statement for its proposed iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which seeks to track Bitcoin’s (BTC) price while generating income by selling call options primarily on shares of its spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT.
The filing reflects a broader shift in crypto exchange-traded products, as issuers increasingly design ETFs that combine digital assets with portfolio strategies and risk management features rather than offering simple price exposure alone.
In December, Amplify ETFs launched two blockchain-focused ETFs on NYSE Arca. The Amplify Stablecoin Technology ETF (STBQ) and Amplify Tokenization Technology ETF (TKNQ) track diversified indexes of companies building infrastructure and generating revenue from stablecoins and tokenized assets.
Bitwise Asset Management also filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch 11 single-token “strategy” crypto ETFs, a move that would expand its product lineup by offering regulated exposure to major altcoins including Near (NEAR), Sui (SUI), Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), Bittensor (TAO) and Zcash (ZEC).
Asset manager 21Shares recently launched its Bitcoin Gold ETP, BOLD, on the London Stock Exchange, offering a single exchange-traded product that combines exposure to Bitcoin and gold, with roughly two-thirds allocated to gold and one-third to Bitcoin and trading in both pounds sterling and US dollars.
Magazine: A ‘tsunami’ of wealth is headed for crypto: Nansen’s Alex Svanevik
