Canary Capital Group LLC moved its PEPE ETF application forward on October 2, filing a pre-effective amendment to the fund’s Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The amended filing sets out how the Canary PEPE ETF would hold PEPE Coin, the token behind the Pepe the Frog meme, and confirms the shares are expected to list on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
The trust structure in the amended filing
The trust’s investment objective is to track the price of PEPE Coin held by the fund, less operating expenses, with its net asset value calculated against the CoinDesk PEPE Benchmark Rate 60m NY Rate, a benchmark maintained by CoinDesk Indices. Canary Capital Group LLC is the sponsor, while BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. would custody the fund’s PEPE. CSC Delaware Trust Company is the trustee, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services is the transfer agent, and U.S. Bank N.A. would serve as cash custodian. Shares would be issued in baskets of 10,000, and the filing leaves the ticker symbol blank, meaning it has not yet been assigned. The fund is organized as a Delaware statutory trust, and the amendment was signed by Canary chief executive Steven McClurg.
A memecoin fund joins Canary’s altcoin lineup
The PEPE application is the latest in a line of Canary filings that stretch beyond bitcoin and ether. The firm previously filed for a Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) ETF and, separately, submitted a final prospectus for a staked TRON (TRX) ETF. The amendment keeps the PEPE fund in a broader push by issuers to package altcoins and memecoins into exchange-traded products after the Securities and Exchange Commission cleared the first batch of leveraged bitcoin and ether ETPs.
ETFs are not the only place memecoins are finding use. PEPE is accepted for deposits at a small number of online crypto casinos, and BlockchainReporter’s crypto casino lists by coin show which platforms support which tokens, including a dedicated PEPE list.
PEPE volatility and the road to approval
The filing carries a blunt risk warning: the shares are speculative securities and an investment in the trust involves significant risk. Because the trust is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, investors would not receive the protections that act provides. The amendment is a step toward an effective registration, not approval, and the fund cannot sell shares until the SEC declares the registration effective. PEPE’s price can swing sharply, and the fund’s prospectus flags volatility, concentrated ownership and reliance on community sentiment among its risks.
