Canary Capital Files SEC S-1 for PEPE ETF as Price Drops 5%

Canary Capital has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the Canary PEPE ETF, a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would give investors direct exposure to PEPE through traditional brokerage accounts. 

The S-1, submitted on April 8, shows the firm is attempting to package the meme coin into a structure now widely used across spot crypto ETFs.

Built like every other spot ETF, just riskier

The filing lays out a familiar design. The trust would hold spot PEPE directly, without using derivatives or leverage, and calculate its net asset value (NAV) using a pricing benchmark sourced from major PEPE trading venues. Shares would be created and redeemed in blocks of 10,000, with a custodian handling the underlying tokens.

PEPE itself is described as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum (ETH) network, launched in April 2023. The trust may keep up to 5% of its holdings in Ethereum (ETH), mainly to handle network fees tied to moving PEPE. That detail stands out because it shows the fund is not just exposed to PEPE, but also indirectly tied to Ethereum’s functioning.

Filing doesn’t sugarcoat the reality

The prospectus is unusually direct about what PEPE is. It calls it a “highly speculative asset,” saying its price is driven more by online popularity and social sentiment than any real utility. There is no attempt to position it as infrastructure or a serious blockchain play.

At the same time, the risk section is heavy. The filing flags that PEPE markets are still new and largely unregulated, which opens the door to volatility and manipulation. It also points to custody risks and possible disruptions on the Ethereum network. The warning is clear that investors could lose their entire investment.

Memecoin ETFs are already here

What makes this filing notable is the timing. Meme coin ETFs are no longer just proposals. Grayscale’s Dogecoin Trust ETF is already trading in the U.S., with filings showing it operates under the ticker GDOG on NYSE Arca since November 24, 2025, backed by a March 2026 prospectus update.

Elsewhere, Tuttle Capital has been pushing similar ideas further. It filed for a Tuttle Capital Bonk Income Blast ETF in September 2025, and earlier documents show plans for a 2X Long Bonk Daily Target ETF. 

The same batch of filings also included leveraged products tied to tokens like TRUMP and MELANIA, showing how far issuers are willing to stretch the ETF wrapper.

PEPE, meanwhile, is not reacting positively to the news. The token is trading at $0.000003502, down 5.41% over the last 24 hours. Its market cap sits at $1.44 billion, while trading volume has dropped 32.01% to $336.67 million.

The application now moves to SEC review, where approval is far from certain. But the direction is getting harder to ignore. After Dogecoin and now PEPE, meme coins are no longer staying in crypto circles. They are moving straight into public markets.

Also Read: Morgan Stanley Set to Launch Bitcoin ETF MSBT on April 8