Grayscale Wants Worldcoin on Wall Street, but WLD Sits 97% Below Its Peak

Grayscale files with the SEC for a Worldcoin fund

Grayscale filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 20 July 2026 for the Grayscale Worldcoin ETF. The proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) would list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker GWLD, using the exchange's generic listing standards. The trust behind the fund was formed on 10 July 2026, ten days before the filing reached regulators. The move would open a regulated route for investors to gain exposure to Worldcoin through a standard brokerage account.

The fund would hold WLD through named custodians

The trust would hold the WLD token, the native asset of the World Network. BitGo Bank and Trust would act as custodian, and the Bank of New York Mellon would serve as transfer agent. Share values would track the CoinDesk Worldcoin Benchmark Rate. That structure would let investors gain exposure to WLD without buying or storing the token directly. As a passive vehicle, the fund would not try to beat the token's price, only mirror it.

"As a passive investment vehicle, the Trust's investment objective is for the value of the Shares (based on WLD per Share) to reflect the value of WLD held by the Trust, determined by reference to the Index Price, less the Trust's expenses and other liabilities", 20 July 2026. — Grayscale, Worldcoin ETF registration statement

WLD trades far below its 2024 record

WLD traded near $0.38 on 20 July 2026, up roughly 3% to 4% on the day of the filing. The token remains about 97% below its March 2024 all-time high near $11.74, a gap that Grayscale's own paperwork flags as a risk. The filing put WLD's market value near $1.4 billion as of 30 June 2026, with about 3.5 billion tokens in circulation, ranking it around the 41st-largest cryptocurrency at that time. The prospectus also lists heavy token unlocks and concentrated ownership among the risks facing WLD holders.

Grayscale adds Worldcoin to its ETF lineup

The filing extends Grayscale's crypto ETF effort, which already spans Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Dogecoin. World, formerly Worldcoin, was cofounded by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. The project, built by lead developer Tools for Humanity, uses eye-scanning hardware to verify identity and issue its World ID credential. Grayscale is betting that a familiar exchange-traded wrapper can draw fresh demand to a token that has struggled since its 2024 debut.

Approval and listing are not yet certain

The registration statement does not guarantee that the SEC will clear the product or that Nasdaq will list the shares. Grayscale left the management fee, the initial seed investment and the amount of WLD per share blank in the prospectus. The firm plans to complete those terms through later amendments before the fund can begin trading. Grayscale has not disclosed a target date for a potential launch, and the timing rests with the SEC's review.

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