Canary Capital’s Bold Move: Filing for a TRUMP Meme Coin ETF

The proposed fund, called the Canary TRUMP Coin ETF, would mirror the price of the TRUMP token. The token was introduced in January 2025 ahead of Trump’s inauguration and has since traded largely on hype and social buzz. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, TRUMP is not built on strong technical fundamentals. Instead, its value comes from cultural branding and a community that thrives online.

Why ETF wrapper?

By putting the token in an ETF wrapper, Canary wants to give investors a way to buy it through normal brokerage accounts. That means no crypto wallets, no private keys, just ticker access like any other fund. The simplified entry point could appeal to everyday traders as well as institutions looking for exposure to politically branded assets.

This is not Canary’s first crypto experiment. The firm has also filed for ETFs tracking Solana, XRP, and a fund it calls the “American-Made Crypto ETF,” focused on U.S.-based tokens. The TRUMP fund, though, is the boldest move. It is the first TRUMP ETF filed under the Securities Act of 1933, which requires direct custody of the token.

Previous attempts by other firms used a 1940 Act structure that relies on indirect exposure. Choosing the 1933 path means Canary plans to hold TRUMP directly, a move that will likely test regulators’ comfort with meme coins’ volatility and thin liquidity.

The Markets

Markets reacted quickly. TRUMP’s price rose nearly 2 percent on the day to $8.35, touching $8.46 at its peak. Trading volumes slipped 7 percent in 24 hours, showing that enthusiasm was measured. The token now carries a market cap of $1.66 billion with a fully diluted value above $8 billion, a reminder that further supply unlocks could dilute holders. On the charts, the Relative Strength Index sits at 42, hinting at room for gains, but the token still trades below major moving averages. Futures traders seemed more confident. Open interest in TRUMP contracts rose 3 percent to $426.66 million across Binance, Bybit, and other exchanges.

Compared with Dogecoin, the heavyweight of meme coins, TRUMP remains a niche asset. Dogecoin has already seen ETF filings from Grayscale and Bitwise make more headway at the SEC. Its larger liquidity and adoption history give it advantages that TRUMP lacks. Concerns also remain over TRUMP’s ownership concentration and the potential for market manipulation. Both issues will almost certainly be examined in the SEC’s review.

Approval, if it comes, will not be quick. The SEC often requires six months of futures trading history before allowing a spot ETF. TRUMP has no futures market at all. This leaves the application exposed to rejection or a rerouting into a 1940 Act structure. The SEC’s recent decision to push back rulings on Solana and XRP ETFs until October shows how cautious it remains. Guidance released in February, which treated meme coins as non-securities, offers some encouragement, but custody, liquidity, and investor protections are still likely sticking points.

Politics complicates matters further. Trump has promoted a vision of the U.S. as a “crypto capital,” and his administration has signaled openness to digital assets. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has eased the agency’s tone, rolling back pressure on staking products and signaling flexibility. Even so, critics say a financial product branded after a sitting president sets a dangerous precedent.

The White House insists conflicts of interest are avoided through family trusts. Market veterans remain skeptical.

Implications for Crypto and Traditional Finance

The TRUMP ETF proposal highlights how far meme coins have come in pushing into mainstream finance. If approved, it could open the door to a wave of niche products, blurring the line between financial innovation and political theater. If denied, it would confirm doubts about whether meme coins can withstand regulatory scrutiny.

For investors, the stakes are clear. Approval could funnel liquidity into TRUMP, deepen market participation, and potentially stabilize its price. A rejection would cool demand and reinforce the risks of betting on politically driven tokens. For Canary, the application also fits into a broader play around U.S.-centric digital assets, a theme that may resonate with Trump’s policy direction.