SEC moves closer to decision on Canary Litecoin ETF, asks public for comments

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is asking the public to comment on a proposal for the Canary Litecoin ETF, moving the ball forward on a potential approval or disapproval from the agency. 

The SEC said it would be soliciting comments and asked for those to be submitted 21 days after publication in the Federal Register, according to a filing posted on Wednesday . 

Nasdaq filed a 19b-4 form for Canary's spot Litecoin ETF on Jan. 16. A 19b-4 filing is a document filed by exchanges on behalf of issuers. It is the second part of a two-step process for proposing a spot crypto ETF. Once the filing is acknowledged by the SEC, it will be published in the Federal Register, initiating the agency's approval process.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg, said in an X post that Nasdaq's 19b-4 filing was the first altcoin ETF to be "acknowledged." 

"Throw in the comments from SEC on the S-1 and this filing is by far the furthest along checking all the boxes," Balchunas said. "Q now is will this SEC wait the full 240 days or approve more rapidly. Unknown."

Several firms have been vying for numerous crypto ETFs, including ones based on Solana and XRP. Some firms are even proposing leveraged crypto ETFs involving memecoins from U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, ahead of what is viewed as a crypto-friendly Trump Administration.

The agency is being led by SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, who recently picked fellow Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce to lead a crypto task force . Their leadership marks a change from former Chair Gary Gensler, who took a more critical stance on the crypto industry. 

The SEC previously approved the listing of Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and, later that year, Ethereum ETFs .