CBOE files for Staked INJ ETF on behalf of Canary Capital

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has filed to list shares of Canary Capital’s proposed staked Injective exchange-traded fund (ETF), further expanding the wave of regulated crypto investment products in the United States.

The CBOE’s 19b-4 filing, submitted Monday, comes shortly after investment firm Canary Capital filed an S-1 application for a staked Injective (INJ) token fund with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Thursday, Cointelegraph reported.

The fund aims to accrue staking rewards by offering validation services using an “approved staking platform.”

If approved, it would be the third staked altcoin ETF, following the approval of staked Solana (SOL) and staked Ether (ETH) ETFs on June 30.

The filing comes amid a more favorable regulatory environment under the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has supported innovation in crypto-based investment vehicles.

Related: Solana unveils 2027 roadmap to lead internet capital markets

The SEC has yet to formally acknowledge the ETF filings from Canary Capital and the Cboe. Once acknowledged, the SEC will announce key deadlines for an initial response, which is typically between 30 and 45 days, or early September.

However, the SEC’s complete review period can extend up to 240 days, meaning that the staked INJ ETF’s final decision may only come in March 2026.

In a key decision in May, the SEC ruled that staking does not violate securities laws. The new guidance marked a  “major step forward” for the US cryptocurrency industry, according to Alison Mangiero, head of staking policy at the Crypto Council for Innovation.

“The SEC has now recognized what we’ve long argued: Staking is a core part of how modern blockchains operate, not an investment contract,” she told Cointelegraph, adding that this “clarity is critical.”

Related: Ether Machine taps demand with $1.5B institutional ETH vehicle: Finance Redefined

INJ could benefit from ETF inflows

If approved, Canary Capital’s ETF would give traditional investors exposure to the Injective protocol’s governance token, potentially increasing liquidity and visibility for the asset.

The ETF inflows may help the utility token recapture its previous all-time high of $52, recorded over a year ago on March 14, 2024. However, the token remains over 71% down from its previous peak, trading at $15.10 at the time of writing, Cointelegraph data shows.

For Bitcoin (BTC), ETF inflows accounted for about 75% of new investment in the world’s first cryptocurrency when its price rose above $50,000 in February 2024 after the approval of the first US spot BTC ETFs.

However, the market response to Ethereum’s spot ETF has been more muted.

Ether’s price fell over 38% in the two weeks after the spot ETFs debuted for trading in the US, from $3,441 on July 23, down to a local bottom of $2,116 on Aug. 5, before it started recovering, TradingView data shows.

The outflows from Grayscale’s Ether ETF (ETHE) added significant selling pressure for the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. To date, the fund has realized over $4.3 billion worth of net negative outflows, as the only Ether ETF issuer in the red, Farside Investors data shows.

Magazine: Bitcoin $500K prediction, spot Ether ETF ‘staking issue’— Thomas Fahrer