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In a bold move toward expanding crypto investment products in the U.S., Nasdaq has submitted a 19b-4 form to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to support the listing of the 21Shares SUI ETF. The submission officially kicks off the regulatory review for what could become one of the first altcoin-specific spot ETFs in the country, trailing only recent developments around Ethereum.
Institutional Interest Builds Around Sui Network
The Sui Foundation, responding to the news, confirmed in a blog post that the filing represents the formal start of the review process. “This milestone signifies institutional recognition of Sui’s rapidly maturing ecosystem,” the Foundation stated.
The ETF proposal follows a previous S-1 filing by 21Shares in April, building momentum for regulated SUI exposure. While SUI-based exchange-traded products (ETPs) already hold over $300 million globally—largely traded on European exchanges such as Euronext in Paris and Amsterdam—this would mark the first step toward bringing SUI investment access to U.S. retail and institutional investors.
Sui’s technical infrastructure has underpinned its rising appeal. With a horizontally scalable architecture and object-centric programming model, the Layer-1 network supports a wide array of decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, and tokenization applications. The robust design is seen as a critical differentiator among newer blockchain platforms.
Surging On-Chain Metrics Reflect Growth
Recent on-chain data further strengthens the case for the ETF. According to DeFiLlama, Sui currently ranks eighth in total value locked (TVL), with nearly $1.95 billion secured across its DeFi protocols. Its stablecoin market cap has soared 190% since the beginning of the year, now exceeding $1.1 billion. In May alone, Sui facilitated over $110 billion in stablecoin transfers.
This rapid growth hasn’t come without challenges. In May, the ecosystem was shaken by a $260 million exploit on Cetus, a key decentralized exchange operating within both the Sui and Aptos networks. The incident led to a temporary network halt and sparked debate over the $162 million recovery plan. Despite the controversy, TVL figures have rebounded, and developers responded with a $10 million investment into security improvements, aiming to reinforce trust and strengthen protections for dApp builders.
ETF Filing Fuels “Altcoin Summer” Speculation
The Nasdaq submission also comes amid speculation that U.S. markets could soon see a broader wave of altcoin ETFs. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas weighed in, stating that while altcoin ETFs could gain traction, they’re unlikely to match the scale of Bitcoin products: “The further away you get from BTC, the less assets there will be,” he noted. Still, filings like Osprey’s bid for a Solana ETF may pressure the SEC to set precedent faster than anticipated.
The SUI ETF could mark a turning point. SUI is trading at $3.47 at the time of writing, up 18% month-to-date and showing near-term strength despite broader market uncertainty. Mysten Labs President Kevin Boon commented on the progress, saying, “The Nasdaq filing is a signal that Sui is no longer just a project—it’s a destination for institutional innovation.”
Meanwhile, the SEC has extended the comment period on other altcoin proposals, including Hedera’s ETF bid, indicating a cautious but deliberate approach to alternative asset exposure in the U.S.
As attention shifts toward the potential for an “Altcoin ETF Summer,” the 21Shares SUI ETF could emerge as a key test case for how the SEC views next-generation blockchain platforms in the regulatory spotlight. With institutional demand heating up, the door to broader crypto integration in traditional finance may be about to open wider.