- Canary Capital filed an S-1 with the SEC on April 8 for the first US spot ETF to directly hold PEPE tokens, an ERC-20 meme coin launched on Ethereum in April 2023, with no custodian or exchange yet named.
- PEPE traded near US$0.00000359 after the filing with just a 0.6% gain and trading volume rose only 10% to US$432 million, a notably subdued reaction for a token that once hit multi-billion-dollar peaks.
- CoinShares head of research James Butterfill noted altcoin ETFs outside Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP represent just 9% of total AUM, calling meme assets “just not popular with investors.”
Quite an embarrassing story this one, as Canary Capital recently filed an S-1 registration statement with the SEC on April 8 for the Canary PEPE ETF.
Yes, the first proposed US spot fund to directly hold and track the PEPE, the meme coin, but the market response was underwhelming.
Meme Fatigue?
The proposed fund would hold spot PEPE, issue shares in 10,000-unit baskets, and calculate net asset value daily at 4:00 p.m. ET. Up to 5% of assets may be held in Ethereum to pay transaction fees, not for investment.
The filing states PEPE’s value is driven by online popularity and social sentiment, not utility. It warns of volatility, market manipulation, custody risks, and possible Ethereum network disruption, with a risk of total loss.
PEPE traded at US$0.00000359 (AU$0.0000052), up 0.6% over 24 hours. Trading volume rose 10% to US$432 million (AU$626.4 million) ahead of the filing, as per CoinMarketCap, a subdued move compared to past spikes driven by retail trading.
Related: Schwab Says There’s No “Right” Crypto Allocation—But Warns Risk Rises Fast
Canary has also filed for ETFs tied to Mog, PENGU, and TRUMP.
Investor demand for meme coin ETFs remains weak, and ETF data highlights this, starting with US-listed Dogecoin ETFs having recorded US$13 million (AU$18.85 million) in inflows this year (no, not this week, but this year), ranking 17th among crypto ETFs tracked by CoinShares.
CoinShares research head James Butterfill said demand is concentrated in major assets (shocking) and that meme coin ETFs lack a clear investment case for institutional buyers.
Previous launches have seen limited traction. Grayscale’s Dogecoin Trust ETF began trading in November 2025, and Tuttle Capital has filed for BONK-related products.
Read more: FDIC Moves to Rein in Stablecoins with New Rule Proposal Under GENIUS Act
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