In a significant step toward expanding crypto investment products in the United States, Nasdaq has officially filed to list a spot Sui exchange-traded fund (ETF) managed by 21Shares. The move signals the start of a formal review process by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which now faces a multi-month timeline to evaluate the proposal.
The key document, a 19b-4 filing submitted on May 23, lays the groundwork for the SEC to consider whether 21Shares’ proposed SUI ETF should be approved for listing on the U.S. stock exchange. This follows an earlier S-1 registration statement filed on April 30 by 21Shares, which outlines the structure and details of the fund. Both filings are crucial steps in getting the ETF off the ground.
Now that the 19b-4 has been submitted, the SEC is officially on the clock. While it has an initial 45-day window to make a decision, it can extend that review multiple times—up to a total of 240 days. Based on this timeline, a final decision on the ETF must be reached by January 18, 2026, at the latest.
What’s in the ETF?
According to the filings, the proposed ETF would directly track the price of the SUI token, the native asset of the Sui blockchain. 21Shares has tapped both Coinbase Custody and BitGo as custodians to securely hold the fund’s SUI assets. However, some finer details—like the ETF’s ticker symbol or management fee—have not yet been disclosed in the filings.
In the 19b-4 filing, 21Shares emphasizes that the SUI token is integral to the Sui blockchain ecosystem. The token has multiple roles: it supports staking mechanisms for earning rewards, acts as a means of paying transaction (gas) fees, operates as a liquid utility asset within Sui-based decentralized applications, and plays a role in governance decisions.
Competition and Context
21Shares is not alone in pursuing a SUI ETF. Canary Capital has also filed similar paperwork with the SEC, having submitted its own 19b-4 and S-1 filings earlier on April 8. With more than one applicant in the mix, competition to bring the first spot Sui ETF to the U.S. market is clearly heating up.
Globally, 21Shares is already ahead of the curve. The firm currently offers a Sui exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe, available on both the Euronext Paris and Amsterdam stock exchanges. That product, alongside similar offerings, has contributed to a growing appetite for SUI-based investment vehicles.
As of May 26, CoinShares reports that SUI ETPs hold approximately $317.2 million in assets under management (AUM). Between May 16 and May 24 alone, these products saw $2.9 million in new inflows—demonstrating investor interest despite the token being relatively young in the crypto landscape.
Sui: A Rising Star in the Crypto Space
Often described as a potential “Solana killer,” the Sui blockchain is gaining traction as a high-performance platform geared toward decentralized applications. While it’s still trailing behind Solana in terms of market capitalization—with SUI holding around $12.3 billion compared to Solana’s $92 billion—it has carved out a space as the 13th-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, according to CoinGecko.
If the SEC eventually gives its blessing, the 21Shares SUI ETF would be the first U.S.-listed spot fund dedicated solely to tracking the Sui token—offering mainstream investors an easier way to gain exposure to this rising blockchain network without having to manage wallets or deal with direct crypto purchases.
Looking Ahead
With the SEC’s review period now underway, the crypto and investment communities will be closely watching how the agency navigates this latest ETF proposal. Given the regulatory momentum surrounding spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs earlier this year, some see the SUI filing as part of a broader wave of crypto investment products aiming to enter traditional financial markets.
If approved, the 21Shares SUI ETF could mark another milestone in the integration of digital assets into regulated investment frameworks—potentially bringing new levels of accessibility and legitimacy to a rapidly evolving crypto sector.
