SEC Again Delays Litecoin ETF Decision, Seeks Public Comments
Experts believe that Litecoin has the best chance of approval by the end of the year.
Helen Brown | Edited by Nikhilesh De , May 6, 2025, 00:54
Key points:
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision on Canary Capital's proposed Litecoin ETF, seeking public input on its compliance with regulations.
- The decision comes after a series of delays in other crypto ETF applications, dampening hopes that Litecoin would receive more favorable treatment.
- ETF watchers say the recent appointment of Paul Atkins as chairman could significantly impact the agency's approach to crypto funds.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again delayed a decision on Canary Capital's application to create an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on Litecoin (LTC).
This comes after the agency rejected several other applications for spot cryptocurrency ETFs last week, including XRP, Hedera and Dogecoin, but did not do so for the Canary Litecoin ETF, raising speculation about possible alternative plans the regulator may have for the fund.
However, on Monday, at the appointed deadline, the regulator announced the delay and asked for public views on the proposal's compliance with regulatory requirements.
“In particular, the Commission would like to receive views on whether the proposal to list and trade shares of a trust that will hold LTC is intended to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices or raises any new or previously unaddressed concerns that the Commission has not discussed,” the agency said in a statement.
Canary Capital, founded last year by former Valkyrie Funds co-founder Stephen McClurg, filed initial documents for the fund in October.
LTC, with a market cap of $6.6 billion, is the native cryptocurrency of Litecoin, an open-source blockchain project whose code was borrowed from Bitcoin (BTC).
ETF experts at Bloomberg Intelligence have predicted that the token will be the next to be included in an ETF, amid rumors that Canary Capital received comments from the SEC regarding its filing back in January.
Issuers have yet to receive the first significant decision on crypto ETFs from newly appointed SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, who took office in April.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described Atkins' replacement as chairman from Gary Gensler as a “significant change.”
