Litecoin Joins XRP in ETF Race

Cryptocurrency investment firm Canary Capital has filed to launch a Litecoin exchange-traded fund in the U.S. 

The product aims to provide investors with direct exposure to the O.G. altcoin. 

The filing mentions such risk factors as extreme volatility and the largely unregulated nature of digital assets.  

Canary Capital has noted that Litecoin, which was launched all the way back in 2011, remains one of the longest-running blockchain networks with "a proven track record of security and reliability." 

Earlier this month, Litecoin celebrated its 13th anniversary. Despite not attracting a lot of headlines, the cryptocurrency actually managed to record its biggest number of transactions so far in 2024 (77 million and counting). One of the first alternative cryptocurrencies, which is frequently referred to as the "silver" to Bitcoin's "gold," remains a popular payment option on BitPay. 

However, LTC, despite once being a top 10 cryptocurrency, is now only in 27th place on CoinGecko. It is below such tokens as Uniswap (UNI) and Sui (SUI).  The O.G. altcoin is $5.1 billion.  

The investment firm believes that the proposed ETF product could attract strong institutional demand. 

The move comes shortly after Canary Capita filed to launch an XRP ETF. It submitted Form S-1 for this product. Bitwise, the leading cryptocurrency index fund manager, was the first to submit a filing for an XRP ETF. 

The SEC has already approved ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, the agency is highly unlikely to approve these products in the near future. Major firms like BlackRock have stated that they would not be exploring altcoin ETFs.