Grayscale files with SEC for spot Worldcoin ETF

Top Wall Street asset manager Grayscale has officially registered its intentions to launch a spot ETF for Worldcoin’s WLD token with the U.S. SEC on Monday in a move set to offer American investors a regulated platform to hold the token without touching a crypto exchange.

The filing lands with WLD trading near $0.375, roughly 97% below the price it hit two years ago. The registration statement submitted to the SEC covers the Grayscale Worldcoin ETF, which would list on Nasdaq under the ticker GWLD.

Grayscale moves to launch GWLD spot ETF

The GWLD trust would hold WLD directly and track its value using the CoinDesk Worldcoin Benchmark Rate. It would run as a passive vehicle with no leverage or derivatives, and its stated purpose is to let shareholders get exposure to the token without buying or storing it themselves, just like other spot ETFs.

BitGo Bank & Trust would hold the WLD tokens for the trust. Grayscale has also chosen The Bank of New York Mellon as the administrator and transfer agent, with CSC Delaware Trust Company serving as trustee.

The product is not cleared to trade yet as a registration statement has only just been submitted. GWLD needs SEC approval and a Nasdaq listing approval, with Binance’s summary of the filing pointing to a required 19b-4 rule change before any listing.

The WLD token and possible risks

WLD is the native token of World Network, the identity project built by Tools for Humanity and cofounded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Alex Blania. The network pairs World ID, its “proof of personhood” system, with World Chain, the World App, and the Orb, a spherical device that scans a person’s irises to verify who they are.

World’s iris imaging has undergone multiple restrictions, enforcement actions, and court decisions across several countries. Spain, Portugal, Germany, Hong Kong, Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia have all taken legal or regulatory action on the Orb between 2024 and 2025.

Grayscale’s statement has mentioned that this, alongside World Chain’s centralized sequencer, WLD’s volatility, and the possibility that regulators could treat the token as a security, are all risks that could cut the token’s value or force the ETF to shut down.

WLD also retains a very concentrated ownership on-chain. The 100 largest wallets hold about 90% of all circulating WLD, and team and investor tokens will continue to unlock until around July 2028.

Grayscale furthers ETF lineup, WLD price boost

The Grayscale registration filing stated that there was about 3.5 billion WLD in circulation as of June 30, with a market value of approximately $1.4 billion and a daily volume of $135.1 million. This ranked WLD as the 41st largest crypto asset at the time. CoinMarketCap ranks WLD as the 48th largest crypto asset as of the time of writing.

WLD saw a boost of about 4% after the filing, but the token remains at around 97% below its March 2024 peak of $11.80. A treasury purchase in June gave the token a brief lift before layoffs at Tools for Humanity pulled the gains back.

The filing submission continues a run of Grayscale attempts to further its crypto lineup. The firm converted its flagship Bitcoin trust into an ETF in January 2024 after beating the SEC in court, then launched an Ethereum fund, and has since added or filed more products related to Solana, Dogecoin, and Chainlink.

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