Canary Capital Files for Litecoin ETF Just Days After XRP Move

Canary Capital announced Tuesday that it has filed an S-1 registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the intent of launching a Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The move comes less than a week after Canary Capital fired an application to launch an XRP-based ETF, following in the footsteps of asset manager Bitwise, which submitted its own XRP ETF application on October 1. Such moves signal continued interest in crypto-backed ETFs, following the SEC’s earlier approvals of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs.

In a statement shared with Decrypt, Canary Capital stated that it believes that Litecoin presents a unique and compelling opportunity for investors seeking exposure to the cryptocurrency.

“As one of the longest-running blockchains with 100% uptime since its inception, Litecoin has demonstrated a proven track record of security and reliability with significant enterprise-grade use cases,” it stated.

This filing is part of a broader movement among asset managers seeking to offer crypto-focused products through traditional investment vehicles like ETFs. Earlier this year, the SEC approved Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which led to significant investor interest.

These ETFs allow exposure to digital assets without requiring direct management of the underlying cryptocurrency, making them appealing for traditional investors.

XRP, created by the founders of Ripple, has faced regulatory challenges, including a lawsuit by the SEC in 2020, which accused Ripple of selling unregistered securities in the form of XRP.

Despite this, Bitwise proceeded with the filing, but it remains uncertain whether the SEC will approve the fund. Last year, Ripple secured a partial court victory when a judge ruled that programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors did not constitute securities.

Edited by Andrew Hayward