Canary Capital Files to Launch Axelar (AXL) Cross-Chain ETF Tracking Protocol
Axelar also announced the appointment of former Interim Controller Brian Brooks to its newly formed Institutional Advisory Board.
March 5, 2025, 22:16 UTC
What you should know:
- Canary Capital, run by former Valkyrie Funds co-founder Stephen McClurg, has filed with the SEC to create an ETF tracking Axelar's AXL token.
- Axelar, a cross-chain protocol that connects different blockchains, has been adopted by major players such as JP Morgan, Microsoft, Uniswap, and MetaMask.
- Brian Brooks, formerly Coinbase's chief legal officer, has joined Axelar's new institutional advisory board as the project focuses on regulatory harmonization and institutional adoption.
Canary Capital, a digital asset investment firm founded by former Valkyrie Funds co-founder Stephen McClurg, is planning to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will track the price of Axelar (AXL).
The company filed an S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, kicking off the process to launch the fund. The hedge fund has previously filed for several other ETFs, some of which have already been reviewed by the SEC and are awaiting approval.
“Axelar has one of the strongest development teams in the blockchain space. Most viable protocols work with them on interoperability,” said Stephen McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital. “There’s no doubt that AXL will be a top 20 token by market cap when the market discovers it. That’s why we decided to take the risk.”
AXL is the native token of the Alexar network, a cross-chain protocol that connects other blockchains, enabling decentralized and secure cross-chain transactions. Unlike many interoperability solutions that rely on a limited number of validators, Axelar operates on a proof-of-stake consensus model, allowing anyone to participate in its network, Sergey Gorbunov, co-founder of Axelar, told CoinDesk.
The protocol, which has previously integrated with JP Morgan's Kinexys platform, Microsoft's Azure marketplace, as well as Uniswap and MetaMask, also announced the appointment of Brian Brooks, former Coinbase chief legal officer and interim controller of the currency, to its newly formed Institutional Advisory Board.
“Brian has a deep understanding of how to actually get blockchain adoption by traditional financial institutions,” Gorbunov said. “He understands the challenges that these asset issuers face and believes that decentralized interoperability is critical to avoiding all of these complexities along the way.”
According to Gorbunov, stablecoins and tokenization are likely to be the next key areas of focus for institutions in the crypto space, driven by regulatory changes and increased efficiency. The stablecoin bill expected in the coming months could open the door for more financial institutions to issue and integrate stablecoins, as companies like PayPal, BlackRock, and Robinhood are already exploring their use for settlements to reduce costs.
AXL currently trades at $0.36 and has a market cap of $340 million, according to CoinDesk. The token hit an all-time high of $2.69 in March 2024, but has since declined.
Disclaimer: Portions of this article were generated by AI technology and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adhere to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI policy.
