Grayscale's Worldcoin ETF filing moves the U.S. crypto fund race beyond bitcoin and ether, testing whether thinner token markets can support regulated ETF exposure.
Grayscale Investments filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the Grayscale Worldcoin ETF, a fund that would hold WLD, the token of the World Network.
Grayscale said in the filing that the fund would trade on Nasdaq under generic listing standards. Bank of New York Mellon would serve as transfer agent, the filing said. BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. would act as custodian.
An approved product would be the first U.S. ETF tied to Worldcoin. Grayscale has already converted its bitcoin trust into an ETF and launched products tied to Ethereum. The firm has also filed for funds holding Dogecoin and Solana.
The filing extends Grayscale's strategy of building a broad crypto ETF shelf. The filing tests how far regulators and exchanges will go in allowing single-token funds beyond bitcoin and ether.
Grayscale said the proposed fund is a passive vehicle. Its investment objective is for the share value, based on WLD per share, to reflect the value of the tokens held by the trust, less expenses and liabilities. The fund does not actively trade WLD or make discretionary portfolio decisions, Grayscale said.
Worldcoin is not a standard payment token or smart contract asset, Grayscale said in the filing. The project, now branded as World, was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. It combines biometric identification with blockchain-based identity infrastructure. A decentralized digital passport and a spherical device that scans users' eyes confirm identity.
Grayscale has argued that restrictions on access to models like Anthropic's strengthen the case for decentralized AI.
WLD has a market capitalization of about $1.3 billion. The ETF structure shifts custody and wallet management risk from the buyer to a regulated framework, the filing showed. Grayscale said the ETF would not give investors direct exposure to World's biometric hardware or the operating performance of the broader project. Performance depends on the token's market price.
Grayscale acknowledged that retail investors may associate WLD with artificial intelligence and Sam Altman's role in technology. Grayscale said a regulated ETF could make access easier. The structure also requires clear disclosures about the token's risks.
The filing fits into a contest among asset managers to bring more crypto-linked products to U.S. markets. After bitcoin and ether ETFs won approval, issuers have been testing demand and regulatory tolerance for assets with smaller market capitalizations and more concentrated liquidity.
Exchanges would test generic listing standards for spot crypto products with a Worldcoin ETF, the filing said. Custodians would handle assets that trade across fewer deep venues than bitcoin or ether, the filing said.
Grayscale's legal victory in its bitcoin trust conversion reshaped the U.S. ETF market for crypto assets. Its newer filings show that issuers see product breadth as the next phase of competition, the firm said.
The SEC has not set a deadline for a decision on the Worldcoin filing.
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