Canary Capital Files for HBAR Spot ETF

Canary Capital has filed for a Hedera HBAR spot exchange-traded fund with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, marking a first for that type of crypto fund.

The crypto investment firm submitted an S-1 registration statement with the SEC on Tuesday. The fund aims to "provide exposure to the value of the native asset of the Hedera Network," according to the filing.

About HBAR

HBAR is the native digital asset of the Hedera network, which is a decentralized public network using the Hashgraph consensus algorithm. Hedera facilitates fast and secure transactions globally and is governed by a council composed of prominent companies and organizations. This governance model is designed to ensure that decision-making and token distribution are conducted in a secure and compliant manner. HBAR is utilized within the Hedera ecosystem for various purposes, including powering decentralized applications, facilitating transactions, and participating in network governance.

According to the filing, the Canary HBAR ETF intends to hold only HBAR directly, without using derivatives, futures, or other financial instruments. A custodian and administrator have not been named in the S-1 filing.

The firm also previously launched a HBAR Trust in October for accredited investors. Steven McClurg, who founded Canary Capital, had previously founded Valkyrie Funds, which manages other spot crypto ETFs. Canary Capital has also filed registration statements for spot ETFs for Litecoin, Solana, and XRP.

Regulatory Environment

It's unclear whether the SEC will approve more spot crypto ETFs. The agency approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this year and later authorized eight Ethereum ETFs. These filings come amid speculation that the current SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, could step down before a new presidential administration begins. President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he would fire Gensler if elected.

ETF Store President Nate Geraci commented that Canary Capital's filing could reflect how firms perceive potential changes in crypto regulations under a new administration. "This is a very early indication of how significantly some ETF issuers expect the crypto regulatory winds to shift," Geraci noted. "My expectation is that issuers will grow increasingly aggressive with crypto-related ETF filings in an attempt to test out the SEC under the new Trump administration."

Trump's team is reportedly considering several candidates, including Robinhood’s Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher, former Republican SEC commissioner Paul Atkins, and former SEC general counsel Robert Stebbins, to chair the SEC.

When approving spot bitcoin ETFs in January, Gensler stated the agency's decision was "cabined to one set of filings." He added, "We have other filings… in front of us, but I'm not going to prejudge it for you or the audience. That's something that a five-member commission discusses and reviews."

Update: Nov. 12, 6:00 p.m. UTC to include details throughout
Update: Nov. 12, 6:55 p.m. UTC to include comments from Nate Geraci