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    SEC Remains Quiet on Canary Litecoin ETF amid Ambiguities

    Ethan CarterBy No Comments3 Mins Read
    1759461658

    The status of Canary Capital’s spot Litecoin exchange-traded fund remains uncertain after the US Securities and Exchange Commission did not take action on Thursday, the original deadline for a decision.

    This inaction has left the crypto community questioning how the regulator will operate during a federal government shutdown and how its new generic listing standards might impact the timelines for numerous crypto ETF applications currently pending approval.

    Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart and FOX News reporter Eleanor Terrett have observed that the previous 19b-4 deadlines for crypto ETF applications may now be obsolete, as the SEC has requested applicants to withdraw them, leaving only the S-1 registration statement requiring regulatory approval.

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    Source: Eleanor Terrett

    However, a further layer of uncertainty exists due to the government shutdown.

    In August, the SEC published an “Operation Plan” for a government shutdown, stating that it would “not review and approve applications for registration.” This includes new financial products, self-regulatory organization rule changes, and the review or acceleration of registration statements’ effectiveness.

    It remains unclear whether the SEC’s inaction regarding Canary’s spot Litecoin ETF is solely related to the government shutdown or influenced by the new generic listing standards, which could make the 19b-4 deadline irrelevant.

    Canary withdrew its 19b-4 last week, complicating the matter

    Canary retracted its 19b-4 application on Sept. 25 at the SEC’s request, potentially impacting the SEC’s decision delay. The effects of the 19b-4s on applicants who have not withdrawn that document are still uncertain.

    Cointelegraph has reached out to both the SEC and Canary for comments but did not receive an immediate response.

    SEC still operational, but with limited capacity

    Amid the government shutdown on Wednesday, the SEC announced that it would continue to function but with a “very limited” number of staff members available. 

    The SEC confirmed that its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) database would remain operational.