Grayscale Drops Worldcoin ETF Filing, Ticker 'GWLD' Lands on Nasdaq 🌍

Grayscale has filed an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot Worldcoin ETF that would track the price of the WLD token. The asset manager proposed listing the Fund on the Nasdaq under the ticker $GWLD and under generic listing standards, a framework that allows qualifying crypto ETFs to reach the market more quickly. The Worldcoin ETF will become operational once WLD satisfies the applicable eligibility requirements under those standards.

The filing outlines plans for in-kind creations and redemptions for the Fund and names crypto custody firm BitGo as the Trust's custodian. Grayscale said the vehicle would offer institutional investors a regulated route to gain exposure to WLD without directly holding the token. The S-1 submission adds Worldcoin to a growing slate of altcoin ETF applications the firm has lodged with the SEC.

The development was followed by a move higher in the WLD price, which climbed more than 4% on the day of the filing. Trading activity in WLD has tracked broader interest in altcoin-focused exchange-traded products as issuers continue to push the SEC for approvals beyond spot bitcoin and ether funds.

The Worldcoin project, co-founded by Sam Altman, issues the WLD token and operates a global network of iris-scanning "orb" devices used to verify humanness. Worldcoin did not immediately respond publicly to the ETF filing, and the SEC has yet to acknowledge or comment on Grayscale's submission. The regulator's review timeline for new crypto ETF applications under the generic listing standards has shortened in recent months, though outcomes remain case-by-case.

Grayscale already operates spot ETFs tied to $BTC and $ETH, and the firm has filed registration statements for several additional single-asset funds in 2025. The addition of $GWLD to that pipeline keeps the issuer among the most active crypto ETF sponsors as competition for altcoin product launches intensifies across U.S. exchanges.