In a notable development for the cryptocurrency market, asset management firm Canary Capital has officially filed an S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the first spot Litecoin ETF in the country.
Canary Capital Seeks To Launch Litecoin ETF
In a statement released on Tuesday, Canary Capital emphasized that Litecoin offers a “unique and compelling investment opportunity”. They highlighted that Litecoin has a considerable track record, having maintained 100% uptime since its launch, which they believe could be beneficial to their ultimate goal of managing a Litecoin ETF for further exposure.
Canary Capital also noted that Litecoin has been the leading cryptocurrency for real-world payments, particularly through its partnership with BitPay, one of the largest payment processors in the industry.
In addition to its Litecoin ETF filing, Canary Capital recently submitted an application for an XRP ETF, underscoring the increasing institutional interest in cryptocurrency investments.
This move follows a similar application from investment firm Bitwise, indicating a trend among financial institutions to explore crypto-related financial products.
Commodity Vs Security Debate
Despite the growing interest in XRP, the ongoing legal battle between Ripple, the blockchain payment company, and the SEC casts a shadow over the approval process for a similar XRP ETF.
XRP’s classification as either a commodity or a security remains controversial, with the latter designation posing significant hurdles to regulatory approval.
In a positive development for a potential Litecoin ETF, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) referred to Litecoin as a commodity in a complaint against KuCoin earlier this year.
This designation could facilitate a smoother approval process for the proposed spot Litecoin ETF, as commodities generally face fewer regulatory hurdles compared to what the SEC deems as “securities.”
At the time of writing, LTC has risen over 3% to its current trading price of $68.73, having briefly spiked just above the $70 mark following the announcement of the filing.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com