The race to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking XRP, the world’s seventh-largest cryptocurrency, has begun. Canary Capital Group, a new investment firm founded in September that focuses on digital assets, filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday to launch the Canary XRP ETF.
The move comes a week after Bitwise Asset Management filed its first application to launch an exchange-traded fund tracking the coin.
Canary, founded by Stephen McClurg, former co-founder of Valkyrie Funds, said in a statement it was encouraged by signs that the regulatory environment was becoming more progressive and growing demand from investors.
Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs
The requests come after the widely anticipated launch of ETFs holding Bitcoin and Ethereum earlier this year, with firms like VanEck Asset Management and 21Shares looking to launch Solana-linked funds.
Bitcoin ETFs have attracted nearly $19 billion since their launch, while Ether ETFs have seen nearly $550 million in outflows.
Increase in cryptocurrency fund offerings
Canary’s filing did not include details about a specific token or expected fees. The fund is the first of its kind to be offered by the company. The filings for Ripple, known as XRP, indicate that issuers are pushing regulators to allow more retail investors to benefit from the cryptocurrency boom.
“This suggests that ETF providers will be closely monitoring the regulatory landscape for opportunities to introduce new products,” said Stephane Willett, co-founder and CEO of FRNT Financial. “While the prospects for approval are still unclear, it makes perfect sense that two companies that emerged from the original crypto scene are looking to expand their product offerings.”
The effort also comes after a federal judge in August ordered Ripple Labs to pay a civil penalty for selling XRP to institutional investors without registering with U.S. regulators, following a years-long dispute.
In September, crypto asset management firm Grayscale Investments announced that it had launched the Grayscale XRP Trust, which aims to give investors access to the cryptocurrency that relies on the XRP Ledger network, a decentralized peer-to-peer network created to facilitate cross-border financial transactions.
