Latest news with #StevenMcClurg
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SEC Further Delays Litecoin ETF, Requests Public Comments
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has further delayed making a decision on Canary Capital's proposal for a spot Litecoin (LTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). This comes after the agency delayed several other applications for spot crypto ETFs last week, including XRP, Hedera, and Dogecoin but hadn't done so for the Canary Litecoin ETF, sparking hopes that the regulator might have different plans for this fund. But on Monday, the official deadline, the regulator announced the delay and asked for public comments regarding the proposal's compliance with regulatory requirements. "In particular, the Commission seeks comment on whether the proposal to list and trade Shares of the Trust, which would hold LTC, is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices or raises any new or novel concerns not previously contemplated by the Commission," the agency wrote in a filing. Canary Capital, which was founded by former Valkyrie Funds co-founder Steven McClurg last year, had submitted initial paperwork for the fund in October. LTC, which stands at a $6.6 billion market cap, is the native cryptocurrency of Litecoin, an open-source blockchain project whose code is copied from Bitcoin's (BTC). ETF experts at Bloomberg Intelligence had predicted that the token would be the next to be wrapped up in an ETF amid chatter that Canary Capital had received comments back from the SEC regarding its application back in January. Issuers have yet to receive the first major decision on crypto ETFs made by recently appointed SEC chair Paul Atkins, who took the position in April. Atkins' replacement of former Chair Gary Gensler has been characterized as a 'huge variable' by Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canary Capital Files to Launch ETF Tracking Cross-Chain Protocol Axelar
Canary Capital, the digital asset-focused investment firm founded by former Valkyrie Funds co-founder Steven McClurg, is planning on launching an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the price of Axelar (AXL). The firm submitted an S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, kicking off the process to launch such a fund. The hedge fund has previously filed paperwork for several other ETFs. Some of these have already been acknowledged by the Commission and await approval. "Axelar has one of the best dev teams in blockchain. Most viable protocols work with them on chain interoperability," said Steven McClurg, Chief Executive Officer at Canary Capital. "There is no question that AXL will be a top 20 token by market capitalization as the market discovers them. This is why we took the risk." AXL is the native token of the Alexar Network, a cross-chain protocol that connects other blockchains, enabling decentralized, secure cross-chain transactions. Unlike many interoperability solutions that rely on a small set of validators, Axelar operates on a proof-of-stake consensus model, allowing anyone to participate in its network, Sergey Gorbunov, co-founder of Axelar protocol, said in an interview with CoinDesk. The protocol, which has previously been integrated by J.P. Morgan's Kinexys platform, Microsoft's Azure marketplace as well as Uniswap and MetaMask, also announced the appointment of former Coinbase chief legal officer and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks to its newly formed Institutional Advisory Board. 'Brian comes with a pretty deep understanding of how do you actually make sure blockchain is adopted by traditional finance,' said Gorbunov. 'He understands what pain points these asset issuers have and he believes that decentralized interoperability is very essential to not introduce all of those issues in the process.' According to Gorbunov, stablecoins and tokenization are poised to be the next major trends for institutions in crypto, driven by regulatory developments and efficiency gains. A stablecoin bill expected in the coming months could open the door for more financial institutions to issue and integrate stablecoins, with firms like PayPal, BlackRock, and Robinhood already exploring their use for settlement to reduce costs. AXL currently trades at $0.36 and stands at a market cap of $340 million, according to CoinDesk data. The token reached an all-time high in March 2024 at $2.69 but has since dropped. Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy. Sign in to access your portfolio
