Thanks to Trump, Canary Capital’s ETF Plans Began to Take Shape.

Canary Capital’s Bold Crypto ETF Strategy Fueled by Political Events

Founded in October 2024 by Steven McClurg, former CEO of Valkyrie Investments, Canary Capital has quickly gained attention with its strategic push into the cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) market. Despite its recent establishment, the company has filed for multiple crypto ETFs, including those for Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), and Hedera (HBAR), with the Litecoin and Hedera filings marking the first-ever ETFs of their kind.

While it might seem like Canary Capital had carefully mapped out its entry into the crypto ETF space, McClurg shared that the firm’s rapid expansion wasn’t exactly planned from the start.

“We really had no idea that we would be getting back into the ETF game,” McClurg admitted.

Before launching Canary Capital, McClurg co-founded Valkyrie Investments, where he served as Chief Investment Officer, until CoinShares acquired the firm in March 2024. After leaving CoinShares, McClurg launched Canary Capital with the goal of creating a hedge fund, something he had been considering during his time at Valkyrie.

However, the decision to apply for crypto ETFs came after an unexpected political development. McClurg recalled a pivotal moment: “There was an assassination attempt on Trump, the markets rallied, and we began thinking—he could actually win. If he does, regulatory changes are likely, and more crypto ETFs could be approved. So, we decided to file for a few and see what happens.”

Rather than going after the well-established spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, Canary focused on cryptocurrencies further down the market capitalization ladder, which they believed had a lower chance of being classified as securities. This led them to file for ETFs on LTC, HBAR, and XRP, with the XRP filing based on the expectation that the token would be deemed a non-security in court—something that was later confirmed.

To date, none of Canary Capital’s ETF applications have been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 2024, previous Solana ETF applications were either denied or left unaddressed by the SEC. However, following the political change, Cboe BZX Exchange refiled for Solana ETFs, hoping for approval under the new administration. The SEC is obligated to respond within 45 days, or 240 days if there is a delay.

Canary has also filed a 19b-4 for its Litecoin ETF, with the SEC required to respond by February 29. However, the firm has not yet submitted 19b-4 filings for its XRP and HBAR ETFs, as this filing is a necessary step for advancing ETFs.

Reflecting on the firm’s strategy, McClurg said, “Oddly enough, it worked. We treated it like a call option on Trump winning the presidency.”

Looking forward, McClurg noted that while Canary Capital does not currently have plans to file for more ETFs, the company remains open to future opportunities if the market conditions are right.