Canary's Staked INJ ETF Clears Nasdaq Listing Hurdle

Nasdaq has given Canary Capital's Staked INJ ETF the green light to list, according to a Form 8-A the firm filed on November 3. The approval covers the common shares trading on the exchange — it does not mean the fund can start selling anything yet. That separate Securities Act registration still has to go effective first.

The fund's latest S-1 amendment, dated November 2, is still a preliminary prospectus and lays out the planned ticker: INJC. BitGo is lined up as custodian, and the structure is simple for buyers — investors trade shares through their brokers instead of wrangling with INJ tokens and validators on their own.

Staking is the whole pitch. Canary expects at least 90% of the fund's INJ to be staked in normal conditions, with the rest kept liquid for redemptions, expenses and protecting assets. Delegating to validators secures Injective's proof-of-stake network and kicks back extra INJ. The sponsor fee is set at 1.10% annually on INJ holdings, while staking fees skim 30% of rewards generated, leaving 70% for the fund. Those staking fees get split between the staking provider, the sponsor and the custodian.

Rewards mostly get restaked, aside from whatever is set aside for redemptions, expenses or asset protection, and accrued rewards feed into the fund's daily net asset value. None of that locks in growth. The filing is blunt: INJ per share will shrink if staking rewards can't cover the sponsor fee and other costs.

Liquidity throws another wrinkle in the mix. Unstaking INJ triggers a 21-day unbonding period where the tokens can't move and earn nothing. Shareholders trading fund shares may also pay a premium or eat a discount to the underlying NAV.

One more piece of the puzzle: the Injective Foundation has signaled it intends to buy up to $15 million of seed shares, per the November 2 filing, with that purchase expected to be paid in INJ rather than cash.