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

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

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

The fund, which would be named iTrust Tron Chain Technology ETF, is set to hold spot TRX and a portion of the tokens to be staked for added yield, the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.

According to CoinMarketCap, the TRX token has a total market capitalization of over $22 billion. Staking TRX generates an annualized yield of approximately 4.5%, according to data from Stakingrewards.com.

The filing is the latest in an outpouring of submissions aiming at listing ETFs holding alternative cryptocurrencies, or "altcoins."

However, Canary's proposed fund is relatively unique in requesting permission to stake its crypto holdings in its initial application. Other U.S. ETFs, such as those holding the Ethereum network's native token, Ether ETHUSD, have sought approval for staking only after successfully listing a fund holding the spot token. 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 fraudulently inflating the prices of the Tron token and Bittorrent's BTT token.

The SEC and Sun asked the judge overseeing the lawsuit in February to pause the case so that the parties could enter into settlement talks.

Altcoin ETF season

Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, U.S. regulators have acknowledged dozens of filings for proposed crypto investment products.

They include plans for ETFs holding native layer-1 tokens such as Solana (SOL) as well as memecoins such as Official Trump (TRUMP).

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

Some industry analysts have expressed doubt that ETFs holding non-core cryptocurrencies will be 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, formerly known as Twitter.