VanEck launches first U.S. BNB ETF as Binance Coin retreats

VanEck has launched the first U.S. spot BNB exchange-traded fund while Binance Coin traded lower alongside a broader crypto market sell-off tied to rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

According to a press release issued by VanEck on May 28, the asset manager’s VBNB fund began trading on the Nasdaq, giving U.S. investors direct spot exposure to BNB, the native token of the BNB Chain ecosystem.

The ETF carries a 0.39% management fee and expands VanEck’s existing lineup of crypto investment products, which already includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche funds.

Patrick Bush, senior investment analyst at VanEck, said the BNB Chain remains one of the most heavily used blockchain networks globally, processing roughly 14 million transactions each day and serving more than 2.5 million daily active users. Bush also stated that BNB had held up better than several major layer-1 cryptocurrencies during recent market declines.

Despite the ETF launch, Binance Coin (BNB) price traded around $631 at press time, down 3% over the previous 24 hours, according to data from crypto.news. The token has fallen over 26% so far since the start of this year.

Pressure on the crypto market intensified after fresh military strikes between the U.S. and Iran raised concerns about whether diplomatic negotiations could continue. Bitcoin and several major altcoins also moved lower during the session.

Grayscale moves closer to competing BNB product

Alongside VanEck’s launch, competition in the altcoin ETF market has continued to build as more issuers prepare products tied to large-cap cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this month, asset manager Grayscale filed an amended S-1 registration statement for its proposed BNB fund, a step that often comes before a product launch or regulatory review update. While the firm has not confirmed a listing date, the filing added BNB to a growing list of altcoins being packaged into regulated U.S. investment vehicles.

Kyle DaCruz, director of digital assets product at VanEck, said BNB had remained one of the few major cryptocurrencies without a U.S. spot ETF until now. DaCruz stated that the VBNB launch gives investors exchange-traded access to what he described as one of the most economically active blockchain ecosystems in the crypto sector.

BNB now joins Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Avalanche, Litecoin, Polkadot, Hyperliquid, Hedera, Chainlink, and Dogecoin among cryptocurrencies that already have spot-style ETF products trading or approved in the United States.

Privacy coin ETF filings have expanded beyond BNB

Away from BNB, issuers have also started pushing into more specialized crypto categories, including privacy-focused assets that regulators had previously avoided.

As reported earlier by crypto.news, Grayscale filed a Form S-3 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 12 to convert its existing Zcash Trust into a spot ETF under the ticker ZCSH. If approved, the product would become the first U.S. spot ETF tied to a privacy coin.

The filing followed the SEC’s January 2026 decision to close its long-running investigation into the Zcash Foundation without recommending enforcement action.

Industry analysts cited by market reports have projected that a spot Zcash ETF could attract between $500 million and $2 billion in inflows against Zcash’s roughly $6 billion market capitalization.

Under the SEC’s updated crypto ETF listing framework adopted in late 2025, review timelines have also been shortened considerably. Instead of the previous 240-day process used for earlier crypto ETF applications, some filings are now moving through review periods closer to 75 days, making a potential third-quarter 2026 decision possible if no major delays emerge.