Grayscale, the world’s largest digital asset manager, has filed registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the “Grayscale Worldcoin ETF,” moving to broaden its crypto ETF lineup once again.
If the proposal is approved, the product would become the first U.S. spot ETF tied to Worldcoin, now renamed World, and its native token WLD. The filing would bring the crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman a step closer to Wall Street.
Fund structure and pricing
According to the filing, the ETF would hold WLD directly and operate as a passive investment vehicle. Grayscale said in the document: “As a passive investment vehicle, the investment objective of the Trust is for the value of the shares to reflect the value of the WLD held by the Trust, determined by reference to the Index Price, less the Trust’s expenses and other liabilities.”
Grayscale said the fund’s pricing would track a specified index price, with operating costs and liabilities deducted.
Nasdaq listing plan and service providers
If approved, the ETF would list on Nasdaq under standard listing requirements.
For core fund infrastructure, Grayscale named BNY Mellon as transfer agent. BitGo Bank & Trust would act as custodian for the fund’s assets.
World project background
CoinGecko market data cited in the report shows WLD with a market capitalization of about $1.3 billion, making it the world’s 55th-largest cryptocurrency.
World is familiar to many investors following the AI sector. The project was co-founded by Sam Altman and is built around a combination of biometrics, cryptography and blockchain technology. Its operating model uses an iris-scanning device called the Orb to verify that a person is human, then issues a decentralized “digital passport” known as World ID to users worldwide, with the stated aim of distinguishing humans from bots in the AI era.
Another ETF push from Grayscale
The WLD filing is the latest move in Grayscale’s effort to widen its crypto investment offerings. The firm previously defeated the SEC in a landmark legal battle and converted its flagship Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, into a spot ETF. It later launched a spot Ether ETF and has also filed with the SEC for several other crypto ETF products, including funds tied to DOGE, SOL and Chainlink.