SEC Asks Public To Comment On Proposed $LTC ETF, Pumping Litecoin Near $130

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called for public feedback on Canary Capital's proposal to issue a Litecoin (LTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), marking another step forward in the potential issuance of an LTC ETF.

Canary filed with the SEC in October, when Gary Gensler was still the SEC Chair, but the filing didn't see any progress until Wednesday, when the regulator, under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, "acknowledged" the filing through opening it for public comments.

SEC Seeks Public Comments for $LTC ETF

On Wednesday, the SEC published a notice to solicit comments on Canary's proposed ETF, marking what Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said was "the first" ever altcoin 19b-4 filing "to be acknowledged" by the Wall Street regulator.

He went on to note that the big question now is whether the SEC will "wait the full 240 days or approve more rapidly."

"Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the [Securities] Act," the SEC wrote Wednesday.

$LTC Nearly Hits $130 on News

As news about the SEC's move spread, Litecoin prices pumped, climbing over 11% in the last 24 hours and at one point almost hit $130. The crypto asset has since slightly retreated and is trading at around $127 as of early Thursday but remains up in the day.

Litecoin users are also celebrating the development, with many looking forward to the ETF's approval.

One prominent LTC user highlighted the cryptocurrency's key features, saying it has "solid reliability, sustainability, superior technology in all aspects compared to Bitcoin."

Compared to BTC, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Litecoin is widely recognized for being faster and cheaper. On the other hand, Bitcoin is obviously the much larger coin due to its massive market cap and its first-mover status.

Kale Abe, a prominent figure in the crypto space, wondered what's "stopping this new SEC" from approving an LTC ETF faster than the Gensler SEC did with Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which he said had to wait until the last minute to make the approvals.

Altcoin ETF Applications on the Rise

News around the SEC's acknowledgement of Canary's LTC ETF filing comes as more institutions apply to issue altcoin ETFs.

Just this week, asset manager Tuttle Capital filed for 10 different leveraged crypto ETFs, including one for Litecoin. It did file for other altcoin and even meme coin ETFs, but noticeably, there was no filing for a BTC or ETH ETF.

It remains to be seen whether the SEC under a new leadership will move faster on crypto ETFs than the Gensler SEC, but at least for now, a Litecoin ETF is one step closer than the rest.