My purpose for doing this was not just to transfer files to my Mac but rather to use those files as a preview when taking portraits. Consequently I want them to open in the file to which they were saved as opposed to opening them in different software.
As was suggested in another reply, the problem is probably because X Acquire has not been optimized for the M1 chip. My workaround has been to use an old Mac. The problem is solved and now I can highlight the downloaded file and touch the spacebar to open a preview. This all happens quickly as I am only downloading the jpg file and not the RAW which works for my purposes.
Thanks for the input