Canary Capital Files for Groundbreaking PENGU ETF, Pushing NFTs into Mainstream Finance

Canary Capital has officially submitted an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for PENGU, the governance token of Pudgy Penguins, a popular NFT project. The filing, made on March 20, 2025, proposes an ETF that would hold both Spot PENGU tokens and Pudgy Penguins NFTs, marking a potential first in the U.S. financial market.

If approved, this ETF would grant institutional investors regulated exposure to NFTs and related digital assets without the complexities of direct ownership. The trust also aims to include other assets like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) that are linked to the PENGU token and Pudgy Penguins ecosystem.

The announcement sparked immediate market excitement, causing PENGU’s price to surge, with trading volumes soaring across major exchanges. However, gains were short-lived as broader market conditions triggered a pullback.

Launched on Solana in December 2025, PENGU was primarily distributed via an airdrop to Pudgy Penguins NFT holders and members of Ethereum and Solana communities. While Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the only cryptocurrencies with SEC-approved ETFs, several asset managers have recently filed for ETFs linked to Solana (SOL), XRP, and other digital assets.

The potential approval of a PENGU ETF could be a game-changer, legitimizing NFTs as an institutional asset class and setting a precedent for future NFT-based financial products. Investors and analysts are closely watching the SEC’s decision, as it could pave the way for broader adoption of tokenized assets in traditional markets.