21Shares seeks SEC approval for first spot Sei ETF

Swiss-based crypto asset manager 21Shares has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the first spot SEI exchange-traded fund.

The Form S-1, submitted on Aug. 28, outlines plans for the 21Shares SEI ETF, a passive fund designed to directly hold SEI, the native token of the Sei (SEI) Network. If approved, it would mark the first U.S.-listed ETF tied to SEI.

According to the filing, the ETF would track the CF SEI-Dollar Reference Rate, an index developed by CF Benchmarks that aggregates SEI prices from multiple spot exchanges. Coinbase Custody Trust Company is set to hold the fund’s SEI in cold storage, while Coinbase Inc. would serve as prime broker.

Staking component under consideration

The application also leaves open the possibility of staking the SEI tokens held by the ETF to earn rewards, though it stresses this would depend on future regulatory clarity. If approved, the move would make 21Shares one of the first issuers to explore adding staking yield to an altcoin ETF, following a similar debate around whether Solana ETFs could incorporate staking mechanisms.

The proposal draws attention to the increasing institutional interest in Sei, a layer-1 blockchain built for decentralized finance and high-throughput trading. Due in part to its low fees and capacity to process thousands of transactions per second, SEI has seen an increase in adoption in recent months.

Altcoin ETF race heats up

The filing comes just weeks after Canary Capital submitted its proposal for a Sei ETF, signaling growing competition among issuers eager to expand beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) products. Several other asset managers have also applied for spot ETFs linked to Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), and Cardano (ADA), such as VanEck and Franklin Templeton.

For 21Shares, the move follows its successful launch of multiple Bitcoin and Ethereum products globally, as well as its July filing for a spot Solana ETF in the U.S. Analysts view the Sei application as part of a broader wave of altcoin ETF attempts, spurred by the SEC’s eventual approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

The SEC has yet to comment on the filing, and approval remains uncertain given the agency’s cautious approach to crypto assets outside of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Still, if approved, a spot Sei ETF could provide institutional investors with a regulated entry point into one of the fastest-growing layer-1 ecosystems.