Canary Capital Files to List Tron (TRX) Spot and Staking ETF

United States asset manager Canary Capital has filed to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding the Tron blockchain network's native token, TRX (TRX), regulatory filings show.

Canary Capital, an asset manager based in the United States, has applied to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will invest in the Tron blockchain network’s native token, TRX, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The fund, which will be called the ‘Canary Capital Tron ETF,’ has applied for approval to invest in, and a portion of the tokens for added yield, the filing adds.

According to CoinMarketCap, the TRX token has a total market capitalization of more than $22 billion. According to data from Stakingrewards.com, TRX offers an annualized staking yield of approximately 4.5%.

Canary’s filing is the latest in an outpouring of submissions aimed at listing ETFs holding alternative cryptocurrencies.

However, the fund is relatively unique in requesting permission to stake its crypto holdings in its initial application. Other US ETFs, such as those holding the Ethereum network’s native token, Ether (ETH), have applied for approval to stake their cryptocurrency holdings after successfully listing a fund to track the token in December 2023. They are still awaiting a regulatory decision.

Tron is a proof-of-stake blockchain network founded by Justin Sun, who also owns Rainberry (formerly Bittorrent), the developer of the BitTorrent protocol.

In March 2023, the SEC sued Sun for allegedly defrauding investors by engaging in a "fraudulent scheme to deceive investors" through the offerings of TRX in 2018 and 2019, and BitTorrent’s BTT token in 2019. According to the regulator, Sun allegedly "lied to investors about the nature, structure, and operations of the offerings."

In February, the SEC and Sun asked the judge overseeing the lawsuit to pause the case to allow the parties to enter into settlement talks.

Related: Canary Capital proposes first Sui ETF in US SEC filing

Altcoin ETF season

Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, US regulators have acknowledged dozens of filings for proposed crypto investment products. They include plans for ETFs holding major layer-1 tokens such as Solana (SOL), and memecoins such as Official Trump (TRUMP).

Since 2024, Canary has filed for several proposed US crypto ETFs, including funds holding Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP), Hedera (HBAR), Axelar (AXL), Pengu (PENGU), and Sui (SUI).

Some industry analysts doubt that ETFs holding non-core cryptocurrencies will be quickly embraced by traditional investors.

“Most crypto ETFs will fail to attract AUM and cost issuers money,” crypto researcher Alex Krüger said in a March post on the X platform.