Canary Capital files for US-made crypto ETF

Canary Capital has applied to launch a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) dedicated exclusively to US-origin tokens. The firm filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking approval for the Canary American-Made Crypto ETF. 

According to the company’s S-1 filing submitted last Friday in Delaware, if the product is cleared, it would track the so-called Made-in-America Blockchain Index and would trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange under the ticker “MRCA.” 

Moreover, the crypto investment vehicle would hold a portfolio of cryptos that meet at least one of three criteria: the asset was originally created in the US, the majority of tokens were minted domestically through native validation methods such as proof-of-work or proof-of-stake, or the protocol’s core operations are US-based.

Examples of eligible tokens include Uniswap (UNI), Chainlink (LINK), and Solana (SOL), although the exact composition will depend on index methodology.

Get ready for ETF combos, Bloomberg ETF analyst says

Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who first reported the filing on social platform X on Monday, noted that an approval could spur creativity in crypto ETF proposals, and the market will see funds that are very different from the currently approved Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. 

“As we’ve predicted, thanks to the category’s success, get ready for ETFs to try every combo imaginable,” Balchunas wrote.

However, he admitted that there’s an uncertainty over which tokens would definitively qualify. “I’m not even totally sure what would make it in this and what wouldn’t. Maybe easier to ask: what major coins wouldn’t be in for sure?” he posted.

The Canary American Made Crypto ETF, which is dubbed a Delaware statutory trust, will issue shares that represent beneficial interests, are continuous, and registered under the Securities Act of 1933. 

It is different from mutual funds or ETFs governed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning investors will not receive protections typical of regulated investment companies. Alongside passively tracking the Made-in-America Blockchain Index, the trust could seek secondary rewards by participating in network validation activities where possible, the filing read.

According to an August 23 Cryptopolitan report, Canary Capital also submitted a revised S-1 form for another spot vehicle, the Canary XRP ETF. That fund would directly hold Ripple’s native token XRP, using the CoinDesk XRP CCIX New York Rate as its benchmark, and listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange.

Institutions are more optimistic about XRP fund approvals after the SEC officially dropped its remaining appeal against Ripple in early August, closing a legal dispute that began in December 2020. 

Judge Analisa Torres had issued a split decision on the SEC’s case against Ripple in July 2023, ruling that XRP qualified as a security when sold to institutional investors, but not when traded on public exchanges. About a year later, she imposed a $125 million fine on Ripple.

After Donald Trump’s reelection as the 47th President of the United States, a more crypto-friendly SEC joined Ripple in asking Torres to lift the injunction and reduce the penalty to $50 million. 

Federal Judge Torres rejected the request, stating that neither party had demonstrated “exceptional circumstances” that would outweigh the public interest in enforcing her earlier ruling. Her ruling has kept the injunction and the $125 million fine in force.

“Accordingly, if jurisdiction were restored to this court, the court would deny the parties’ request to vacate the injunction and reduce the civil penalty,” she told the two entities’ attorneys.

Canary’s filings follow more proposals that have been sent to the SEC, including one from rival asset manager Grayscale Investments which submitted a registration statement to convert its existing private Avalanche Fund into a publicly traded trust. 

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.