XRP ETF race heats up as Canary joins Bitwise in S-1 filing

• A second potential issuer filed for the U.S. spot XRP ETF. 
• However, the altcoin remained muted post-SEC appeal against Ripple Labs

Canary Capital is the latest player to join the U.S. spot Ripple [XRP] ETF race. On the 8th of October, the firm filed an S-1 form, an initial security registration, with the SEC.

The filing comes a week after Bitwise made a similar application with the regulator.

Canary Capital is a new investment firm launched by Steven McClurg, a co-founder of Valkyrie Fund. 

The firm’s spokesperson cited a ‘progressive regulatory’ space as the reason for the move. 

“We’re seeing encouraging signs of a more progressive regulatory environment coupled with growing demand from investors for sophisticated access to cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum – specifically investors seeking access to enterprise-grade blockchain solutions and their native tokens such as XRP.” 

The latest XRP ETF filing has renewed market optimism about the altcoin.

Reactions to the filing

Reacting to the filing, Nate Geraci of ETF Store stated that an XRP ETF approval was a ‘matter of when, NOT if.’ But he added that the outcome could depend on the U.S. elections. 

“Another XRP ETF filing…Approval a matter of when, not if, IMO. But that “when” will be *much* further out in the future unless there’s a change in administration.”

This was the stance of most market observers after Bitwise filed for a similar application last week. 

Market pundits felt the move was hinged on the upcoming U.S. elections, as the current administration still had no regulatory clarity, especially for other tokens like XRP and Solana [SOL]. 

Ripple Labs-SEC lawsuit

The ongoing Ripple Labs-SEC lawsuit supported the challenge for an XRP ETF from a regulatory standpoint.

On the 2nd of October, the regulator appealed against a ruling that categorized the sale of XRP to institutional investors as ‘security’ but not to the public.

Ripple termed the appeal ‘irrational and misguided.’ However, this meant that the regulator still considered XRP security and could be a stumbling block to the approval. 

Ergo, market observers believe that a change in the SEC or US administration could help clarify the status of the rest of crypto tokens.

Impact on XRP

Since the SEC’s appeal on the 2nd of October, XRP has dropped from $0.6, flipping its market structure to bearish after dropping below the 200-day Moving Average (MA).

The latest XRP ETF update didn’t change much at the time of writing. The price was seen consolidating below $0.54 for the past few days.