Major Asset Manager Files for TRUMP ETF With Higher Risk

Canary Capital filed to create a TRUMP ETF, making it the third such firm to attempt this feat. However, Canary is using a different structure than the previous efforts, which could make this product more lucrative.

However, ETF analyst Eric Balchunas claimed that this product cannot meet the requirements for a ’40 Act ETF. Therefore, the SEC’s reaction could serve as a useful barometer for its overall outlook.

A New TRUMP ETF?

Trump’s eponymous meme coin has inaugurated a new era for crypto in 2025, with a new paradigm of friendlier regulations. Naturally, this has included a wave of ETF applications, many of which focus on some pretty esoteric altcoins. Today, Canary Capital is once again joining this trend with a new TRUMP ETF filing:

NEW: @CanaryFunds files for a TRUMP coin ETF

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) August 26, 2025

As it turns out, Canary isn’t the first firm to propose a TRUMP ETF; Rex Shares and Tuttle Capital attempted to create it in January 2025. Still, there’s a sea of MAGA and Trump-branded ETFs on the market right now.

The President’s own media company is even filing for a huge scattershot of its own products.

Bigger Gains, Uncertain Eligibility

Even though this is the third filing, Canary Capital’s play is still pretty significant here. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart noted that the last two TRUMP ETF filings meet the ’40 Act standards, while this is the first attempt to create one under the ’33 Act.

The subtle differences between different types of spot ETF filings may be too in the weeds for a crypto-focused analysis. Suffice it to say, these products are riskier and have lower tax obligations, which could potentially make them a more lucrative investment.

Even though these ETFs ostensibly track the same token, these subtle differences could make Canary’s product more profitable. However, this attempt may be flying too close to the sun:

“I don’t know how this [TRUMP ETF] gets through [the SEC], because you need to have futures for at least six months on an exchange. That doesn’t exist as far as I can see. Alternatively, I could see it in a ’40 Act product,” claimed Eric Balchunas, another veteran ETF analyst.

TRUMP barely has six months of existence itself, let alone six months of futures trading on publicly listed exchanges. Balchunas has been extremely bullish on altcoin ETF approvals, even though the SEC has dragged its feet again and again.

In other words, if he says that this TRUMP ETF may be impossible, investors should heed his words.

Either way, though, this will be a useful test case. In recent months, the SEC has been heavily criticized for disproportionately favoring the crypto industry. This case might be worth attention on those grounds.

Will the Commission explicitly dismiss this filing quickly due to the futures trading requirement? The SEC has repeatedly tried to delay many filings, inventing new methods to do so, but it’s been loath to cancel them outright. Therefore, Canary’s TRUMP ETF could serve as a useful barometer for SEC attitudes, especially in this unprecedented legal climate.