Grayscale Files for First US Worldcoin (WLD) ETF with Nasdaq Listing

Grayscale Investments, a leading crypto asset manager, has officially filed an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the first spot Worldcoin (WLD) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. The filing, made on July 20, 2026, aims to list the fund on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol "GWLD," providing traditional investors with direct exposure to Worldcoin's native token, WLD.

The proposed Grayscale ETF would directly hold WLD, the native token of Worldcoin, offering investors access to WLD's price movements without the complexities of managing private keys or trading on cryptocurrency exchanges. According to the filing, BitGo Bank & Trust would serve as the custodian for the WLD tokens, while Bank of New York Mellon would act as the administrator and transfer agent. However, key details such as the fund's management fees, initial seed investment, authorized participants, or liquidity providers have not yet been disclosed.

This development led to a notable surge in the price of Worldcoin (WLD). Following the news of the filing, WLD's value jumped by approximately 7% to 8%, reaching around $0.38. Despite this increase, WLD remains significantly below its March 2024 peak, trading at 97% down from that level. Grayscale's initiative further diversifies its expanding portfolio of crypto-focused investment products beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), reflecting a broader strategy to offer exchange-traded products for a wider range of altcoins.

The Worldcoin project, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is a digital identity and financial network that aims to verify human identity through iris-scanning devices known as Orbs. The WLD token operates as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. The project has faced regulatory scrutiny and restrictions in several countries, including Hong Kong, Kenya, and Spain, primarily due to its biometric data collection methods.

Grayscale's decision to file the Worldcoin ETF application under Nasdaq's generic listing standards is noteworthy, as this pathway has often expedited approval timelines for numerous crypto ETFs in the past. This procedural choice suggests that Grayscale anticipates a faster route to listing. However, the approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is still pending, and how regulators will evaluate Worldcoin's unique biometric identity model compared to more conventional cryptocurrency tokens remains a crucial question closely watched by the market.