The ETF offers price exposure to AVAX with the potential for staking returns. VanEck also waived sponsor fees on the first $500 million in assets through Feb. 28. Separately, Valour, a subsidiary of DeFi Technologies, received approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum staking ETPs to retail investors on the London Stock Exchange, following the regulator’s decision to lift its ban on retail crypto ETPs. VanEck Debuts AVAX ETF Global asset manager VanEck launched a US-listed exchange-traded product (ETP) offering direct exposure to Avalanche’s native token, AVAX. This is the first spot Avalanche ETF to begin trading in the United States. The product trades under the ticker VAVX and tracks the price performance of AVAX while also allowing for the possibility of generating more returns through staking rewards. According to the firm’s announcement , the fund is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, although it may still fall under other applicable US securities regulations. VanEck said it will waive sponsor fees on the ETF’s first $500 million in assets through Feb. 28. Assets exceeding that threshold before the fee-waiver deadline will be charged a 0.20% sponsor fee, which will apply to all assets once the waiver period ends. Announcement from VanEck The ETF structure opens access to registered investment advisers, wealth managers, and institutional investors who want exposure to Avalanche without the technical complexity of running validator infrastructure themselves. Overall, the product enables institutions to capture network yield through a familiar exchange-traded vehicle rather than holding and staking tokens directly. Avalanche is an open-source blockchain network that is designed for decentralized applications and smart contracts. It launched in September of 2020 and is developed by Ava Labs, a startup founded by Cornell University computer scientist Emin Gün Sirer. At press time, AVAX had a market capitalization of roughly $5.08 billion and was trading near $11.77, according to CoinCodex. The token is still well below its November 2021 all-time high of $144.96 and is also down sharply over the past year. AVAX price action over the past year (Source: CoinCodex) VanEck first moved to bring an Avalanche ETF to market in March of 2025, when it filed an S-1 registration statement with US regulators. The following month, Nasdaq submitted a rule-change filing seeking approval to list and trade the product, clearing a key regulatory hurdle. The launch could accelerate institutional adoption of Avalanche-based investment products. Grayscale Investments currently operates an Avalanche trust and filed in August of 2025 to convert it into a spot ETF, while Bitwise Asset Management submitted its own S-1 registration for an AVAX spot ETF in September of 2025. UK Approves Retail Crypto Staking ETPs Meanwhile, the UK subsidiary of DeFi Technologies, Valour, received regulatory approval to offer crypto ETPs to retail investors on the London Stock Exchange. In a notice that was released on Monday, DeFi Technologies said the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority approved Valour’s exchange-traded products tied to Bitcoin and Ethereum staking. The two products, branded 1Valour Bitcoin Physical Staking and 1Valour Ethereum Physical Staking, officially began trading on the London Stock Exchange on Monday, making them available to UK retail investors. Announcement from DeFi Technologies Johan Wattenström, chairman and chief executive of DeFi Technologies, said the approvals are a meaningful expansion of the company’s UK presence. He described the UK as one of the world’s most important financial markets and said the new listings allow Valour to serve retail investors with transparent exchange-listed products that provide direct exposure to the digital asset economy, including staking-based returns. Valour previously announced plans to list a Bitcoin staking ETP on the London Stock Exchange in September, but that product was restricted to professional investors. The latest launch differs in that it is explicitly designed for retail participation, following the FCA’s decision in October to lift its long-standing ban on crypto ETPs for retail investors. That regulatory shift already encouraged other asset managers, including Bitwise, to pursue similar offerings in the UK. The move also builds on Valour’s international expansion. In December, the company launched an exchange-traded product tied to Solana on Brazil’s main exchange. According to the London Stock Exchange, more than 50 issuers currently list over 2,300 ETPs on the venue, with crypto ETPs generating roughly $280 million in trading volume in December. However, the market has faced recent headwinds. Weekly crypto asset flows (Source: CoinShares) CoinShares reported that crypto ETPs recorded more than $1.7 billion in outflows last week, reversing inflows that were seen the week before. CoinShares research head James Butterfill attributed the shift to weakening expectations for interest rate cuts, negative price momentum, and disappointment that digital assets have not benefited from currency debasement trends.
