Well, well, well, the SEC is at it again, putting the brakes on yet another highly anticipated crypto ETF. Canary Capital's proposal for a spot Litecoin (LTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is now delayed once more, leaving crypto fans in suspense. After all, this was the one proposal that had some hope, at least until Monday rolled around.
Public Comments and Compliance Concerns
Last week, the SEC threw a wrench in the works by delaying decisions on spot crypto ETFs for XRP, Hedera, and Dogecoin. The Litecoin ETF, though, had been a bit of a hopeful outlier, with some speculating the agency might treat it differently. But as we know all too well, hope doesn’t pay the bills, and the SEC announced the delay on Monday, along with a request for public comments about the proposal’s compliance with regulatory standards.
The commission is especially interested in hearing thoughts on whether this Litecoin ETF might lead to "fraudulent and manipulative acts" or whether it raises any concerns that haven’t been addressed in previous ETF proposals. In other words, they’re still trying to figure out if this idea is a solid one or a potential disaster waiting to happen.
Canary Capital and the Litecoin Dream
Canary Capital, founded last year by former Valkyrie Funds co-founder Steven McClurg, first filed for the Litecoin ETF in October. The market cap of LTC is sitting pretty at $6.6 billion, and it’s the native cryptocurrency of Litecoin, a blockchain that’s basically a Bitcoin clone (but with some extra flair).
The SEC's New Leadership: A Wild Card for Crypto ETFs
ETF experts at Bloomberg Intelligence had been pretty bullish on this one, predicting that Litecoin would be the next crypto to get its shiny ETF. After all, Canary Capital had reportedly received feedback from the SEC back in January.
But despite the hope, the SEC’s new leadership under Chair Paul Atkins has added a lot of uncertainty into the mix. As Bloomberg’s ETF analyst Eric Balchunas put it, Atkins’ appointment is like throwing a “huge variable” into the decision-making process. So for now, we’re left hanging. Will Litecoin’s ETF finally break through? Well, it’s still a waiting game.
We had heard chatter that the Litecoin S-1 had gotten comments back from SEC. This looks to confirm that which bodes well for our prediction that Litecoin is most likely to be the next coin approved. All that said, new SEC chair has yet to start and that's a huge variable. https://t.co/cKFswPwcr0
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 15, 2025
HODL Team
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