Thomas Daniels
Canary Capital, an emerging crypto-focused investment firm, has filed a registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot Litecoin ETF. The move signals an aggressive push to bring the Bitcoin-inspired cryptocurrency to Wall Street. The filing, which includes a Form S-1, formalizes the firm’s bid to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by Litecoin (LTC), a leading digital asset.
Canary Capital was founded by Steven McClurg, former Valkyrie executive and a key figure in the cryptocurrency investment space. This latest submission follows the firm’s recent efforts to enter the ETF market, including a joint bid with Bitwise for a spot XRP ETF and the launch of its Canary HBAR Trust, a private fund dedicated to Hedera.
Litecoin, one of the earliest blockchain assets, was launched in 2011 as a “lighter” alternative to Bitcoin. Currently trading at nearly $70 per coin with a market capitalization exceeding $5.25 billion, LTC ranks 27th among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Its long-standing similarity to Bitcoin and its classification outside of securities laws, as noted by SEC Chair Gary Gensler in 2018, could bolster the chances of approval for the proposed ETF.
The rise in crypto ETF filings has been a notable trend in 2024, particularly after the approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs in January and spot Ethereum ETFs in July. While other assets like Solana and Ripple’s XRP have been considered prime candidates for ETF listings, regulatory uncertainty continues to cloud the path forward, especially given the SEC’s cautious stance on cryptocurrency products.
Canary Capital’s entry into the spot LTC ETF race highlights the growing demand for diversified cryptocurrency investment vehicles. However, whether the SEC will ultimately greenlight the product remains an open question, given the agency’s historically reserved approach to crypto regulation.
