Grayscale eyes Worldcoin ETF launch following S-1 filing

Grayscale filed an S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday to launch a Grayscale Worldcoin (WLD) ETF.

Grayscale expands regulated altcoin products push with Worldcoin ETF filing

The proposed fund, which would trade on Nasdaq under the ticker GWLD, is designed to give investors exposure to Worldcoin through a traditional brokerage account, eliminating the need to buy the token directly.

The fund will passively hold WLD and aims to track the token's market price, as measured by the CoinDesk Worldcoin Benchmark Rate. The trust will not use leverage, derivatives, or other strategies to generate returns beyond the performance of the underlying asset.

The filing describes the Grayscale Worldcoin ETF as a Delaware statutory trust established on July 10 to hold WLD, the native token powering the World Network ecosystem.

Under the proposed structure, shares will be created and redeemed in baskets of 10,000 by authorized participants through either in-kind or cash transactions.

BitGo Bank & Trust will serve as the custodian of the trust's digital assets, while The Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon will act as administrator and transfer agent. CSC Delaware Trust Company will serve as trustee, and Grayscale Investments Sponsors LLC, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, will sponsor the fund.

The filing also notes that the trust's WLD holdings will remain fully segregated and will not be lent, pledged, or used as collateral for loans or other financing arrangements.

Worldcoin, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman through Tools for Humanity, is best known for its biometric identity verification system. The system uses iris-scanning devices known as Orbs to issue World IDs and distribute WLD tokens.

The project aims to provide proof of personhood in an AI-driven world but has faced regulatory scrutiny and privacy concerns in several jurisdictions over its collection and handling of biometric data.

If approved, the Grayscale Worldcoin ETF would become a first-of-its-kind fund, providing indirect access to WLD price movements.

The filing marks another step in Grayscale's aggressive expansion into single-asset crypto ETFs. The company has broadened its product lineup over the past year with funds tied to assets such as XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), Chainlink (LINK), and Avalanche (AVAX).

WLD reacted positively to the filing, trading at $0.374 following the announcement, up 3.5% over the past 24 hour at the time of writing.