Litecoin Surges on ETF Speculation

Litecoin’s LTC is rallying after Canary Capital took an important step toward creating an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for the digital asset.

LTC has jumped 20% since news leaked that the firm might be close to filing a form 19b-4, starting the clock on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval or disapproval of the ETF.

“We'll know for sure in a couple weeks if this has a legit shot at getting approved if we see the SEC acknowledge this application for a Litecoin ETF from Canary,” said Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart in an X post.

A successful outcome would make Litecoin the third cryptocurrency with an ETF after Bitcoin and Ethereum.

While several Solana ETF filings have already been made, they were not acknowledged by the SEC, Seyffart said. That means the SEC is not actively considering a Solana ETF.

“We think Litecoin might have a better shot,” Seyffart added.

The reason is that as a payment token forked from Bitcoin, it is very similar to Bitcoin, which has been acknowledged as a commodity rather than a security by the SEC.

“Litecoin ETF now has all the boxes checked,” said senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on X. “The first altcoin ETF of 2025 is about to be on the clock.”

There is reason to believe the SEC will approve it, said Balchunas, starting with yesterday’s news that the SEC gave Canary Capital comments on its Form S-1, the initial filing for an ETF.

Beyond that, Balchunas added, “Litecoin is seen as a commodity, and there's a new SEC sheriff in town.”

Changing of the Guard

Balchunas refers to current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s departure from the agency on Jan. 20. Gensler and another Democratic commission member are leaving after President-elect Trump’s inauguration. That will leave one Democrat and two pro-crypto Republicans on the commission as it awaits incoming SEC Chairman Paul Atkins’ appointment.

The two, Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, have long been critical of Gensler’s antagonistic relationship with the crypto industry. Gensler has said he considers everything but Bitcoin and Ethereum to be securities.