VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital have come together to request the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reinstate the queue-based review system for awarding exchange-traded product approvals. The joint letter, addressed to Chair Paul Atkins on June 5, highlights the advantages that early filers traditionally had in offsetting higher legal and compliance costs. The firms argue that the current concurrent approvals system strips early filers of this advantage.
The letter, signed by VanEck CEO Jan van Eck, Canary Capital’s Steve McClurg, and 21Shares President Duncan Moir, specifically calls for the application of the filing-date principle to pending products, including any potential Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) submissions. They emphasize the need for the SEC to foster a competitive financial marketplace by restoring predictable timelines.
One of the key points raised in the letter is the stalled first-mover advantage that early filers have lost due to deviations from the queue-based system. The authors point to instances where early filers for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw their applications cleared on the same day as larger asset managers who filed months or even years later. This timing discrepancy not only favors issuers with deeper distribution networks but also encourages copycat filings and concentrates assets under bigger brands.
The firms argue that such a departure from the queue system harms market integrity by weakening incentives for original research and discouraging smaller sponsors from taking early risks. They stress that honoring filing dates would not significantly strain SEC staff, as registration statements already arrive in sequence and can maintain their original time gaps through the review cycle.
This call for the reinstatement of the queue-based review system echoes prior public remarks made by VanEck digital assets research chief Matt Sigel. Sigel has been vocal about the importance of following the filing-date principle to ensure a level playing field for all issuers. The coordinated push for this change was previewed by Canary Capital chief executive Steve McClurg during a panel discussion at the Litecoin Summit in Las Vegas.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart also weighed in on the issue, noting that the first-to-file approach was the standard practice until the launches of the spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in 2024. The letter from VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital underscores the importance of restoring fairness and transparency in the approval process for exchange-traded products.