Canary Capital’s filed amended S-1 form for its Canary Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF)

On January 15, 2025, Canary Capital’s filed amended S-1 form for its Canary Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The filing of Canary Capital's amended S-1 for its proposed Litecoin ETF has heightened industry optimism that Litecoin might be the next cryptocurrency to secure approval for a U.S. spot ETF.

sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2039461/000183988225002329/canary-s1a_011525.htm

Bloomberg analysts, including Eric Balchunas, view this development as a sign of progress and SEC engagement, especially since amended S-1 filings typically follow feedback from the regulator.

Eric Balchunas on X: "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." 

Eric Balchunas considers Litecoin the most likely candidate for the next spot ETF approval, following Bitcoin and Ether.

Balchunas noted, however, that the imminent leadership change at the SEC introduces uncertainty. Paul Atkins, who is considered crypto-friendly, is set to succeed Gary Gensler as SEC Chair.

Amended S-1 filings indicate discussions with the SEC, but Canary Capital must still submit a 19b-4 filing to formally initiate the approval timeline.

Solana ETFs are further along, with multiple issuers having already filed 19b-4s. 

Litecoin’s price surged over 15% from Jan. 15-16, with whales and sharks accumulating 250,000 LTC, valued at approximately $29 million.

As of January 16, 2025, Litecoin has a market cap of $9.0 billion.  Litecoin is currently the world's 20th most valuable crypto by market cap

The cryptocurrency remains a prominent player, known for its speed, reliability, and 100% uptime since inception in 2011.

Spot ETFs for Solana and XRP, which are also under review, could attract combined investments exceeding $13 billion in their first year, per JPMorgan projections.

The success of Bitcoin and Ether spot ETFs has bolstered demand for altcoin-based ETFs.

The confirmation of Paul Atkins, a known advocate for lighter crypto regulation, could accelerate approvals for spot crypto ETFs.

However, the SEC’s decision remains tied to procedural requirements and the evolving regulatory environment under new leadership that will be crucial for determining the future of crypto-based ETFs.

Litecoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that was created in October 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer. It is often referred to as "the silver to Bitcoin's gold" due to its similarities with Bitcoin such as limited supply of 84 million LTC.

Litecoin also aiming to improve certain aspects of it, such as block generation time of 2.5 minutes and “Scrypt” hashing algorithm that is less intensive, accessible to miners.