[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Asset manager VanEck has launched the first U.S. spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) for Binance Coin (BNB).

Cointelegraph, a blockchain outlet, reported on May 28 that the product trades under the ticker VBNB. U.S. investors can invest in BNB, a Binance-linked cryptocurrency, through traditional brokerage accounts in the form of an exchange-traded product (ETP).

VBNB is a physically backed fund that includes as its underlying asset BNB held in cold storage by a qualified custodian. BNB is the native token of BNB Chain and is used to pay transaction fees within the network.

VanEck said the product is designed to track BNB's spot price. It also said it could add staking functionality in the future if regulatory and legal requirements are met. That means it is also considering an additional return structure beyond spot price tracking.

VanEck then described BNB Chain as one of the largest blockchain networks by daily active users and transaction activity. It put stablecoin supply on the network at more than $16 billion and said tokenised real-world assets (RWA) total about $3.6 billion. It presented BNB Chain's usage and asset scale as the basis for launching the ETF.

The market is also sizable. BNB's market capitalisation is about $85.5 billion based on CoinGecko data, placing it in the global top five cryptocurrencies. BNB is trading around $633, and daily trading volume is close to $874 million.

The launch comes alongside an expansion in altcoin-based ETFs in the United States. Asset managers have recently broadened their product range to alternative blockchain networks, staking strategies and actively managed digital-asset portfolios. VanEck also introduced the first U.S.-listed spot Avalanche ETF this year in January under the ticker VAVX. The product included the potential for staking-based returns along with exchange-traded investment exposure to the AVAX token.

Altcoin-related derivatives are also increasing within the U.S. regulatory framework. Crypto exchange Bitnomial in April launched for the first time a U.S.-regulated futures contract linked to Injective's INJ token. As spot ETFs and futures products expand together, the ETP market that had focused on bitcoin and ether is spreading to other networks more quickly.

This month also saw the first Hyperliquid spot ETF. 21Shares launched THYP on May 12, and Bitwise introduced a competing product, BHYP, two days later. Initial inflows were not large, but the combined trading value of the two products reached about $41 million within days of launch based on Sosovalue data, and trading activity rose 50 percent.

Actively managed cryptocurrency funds are also on the rise alongside spot altcoin ETFs. Over the past few months, Goldman Sachs and Canada's Hamilton ETF have listed products or filed applications tied to active bitcoin yield strategies, crypto derivatives and income-focused digital-asset portfolios.

Against that backdrop, the VBNB launch has become an example that broadens U.S. investors' access to BNB while showing that competitive dynamics in the crypto ETF market are expanding beyond major large-cap tokens. Key points to watch include whether VanEck follows through on adding staking and whether altcoin ETFs translate into actual inflows and more active trading.

NEWS: @vaneck_us debuts the first U.S. spot $BNB ETF pic.twitter.com/IXVVHzRQ6E