In brief
- Data shared by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas points to a December 2 transition from OTC trading to NYSE Arca.
- An amended S-1 outlines cash-only creations at launch and confirms LINK as the sole asset.
- DOGE and XRP ETFs followed a similar path before going live on the same exchange.
Grayscale’s plan to uplist its Chainlink trust to NYSE Arca is now tied to a formal effective date, positioning what could become the first U.S. spot Chainlink exchange-traded fund to begin trading this week.
Bloomberg terminal data cited by senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas lists December 2 as the shift from OTC markets to the exchange, indicating that the mechanical steps for conversion are in motion.
Meanwhile, the trust’s amended S-1, filed November 12, outlines the structure of the vehicle once it becomes an ETF and confirms that it will continue to hold LINK as its sole asset.
The document also notes the pending transition to “Grayscale Chainlink Trust ETF,” a change that will take effect at launch once the registration statement is declared effective.
These components mirror the template used for Grayscale’s DOGE and XRP ETFs, both of which cleared similar procedural hurdles before debuting on the same exchange.
The effective date shown on Bloomberg’s terminal is a standard indicator that an exchange has scheduled the uplisting.
NYSE Arca typically publishes its listing notice close to the trade date, a sequence that also occurred during the DOGE and XRP ETF launches last month. Both products began trading once the exchange completed its internal readiness checks.
Conversion moves GLNK from a private trust into a tradable ETF with creations and redemptions handled by authorized participants. The S-1 filing, meanwhile, shows that these transactions will start as cash-only until further approval permits in-kind LINK transfers.
Cash-only models make authorized participants handle more of the buying and selling themselves, which the SEC describes in its official documentation of ETF rules (in this case, Rule 6c-11). Those extra costs can show up as wider prices when a new ETF first starts trading.
It’s worth noting that Chainlink’s supply model differs significantly from DOGE and XRP.
LINK has a fixed maximum supply of 1 billion tokens, with current circulating supply and unlock schedules detailed in Chainlink’s tokenomics and circulating supply materials. For LINK, scheduled unlocks and ecosystem distributions add to circulating supply over time, independent of any ETF-related activity.
By contrast, Dogecoin uses an uncapped, inflationary model with a fixed issuance of 5 billion new DOGE per year, as outlined in Dogecoin’s inflation and protocol documentation.
XRP, meanwhile, was pre-minted at a total supply of 100 billion tokens, with programmed monthly releases from escrow on the XRP Ledger governing how Ripple’s locked allocations are introduced to the market.
Decrypt has reached out to Grayscale for comment and further detail.
For asset managers, GLNK could test demand for single-asset altcoin ETFs.
Early trading in DOGE and XRP ETFs showed light but steady turnover after launch, with DOGE drawing limited inflows and XRP posting higher volumes due to its existing derivatives market, according to Decrypt’s prior reporting.
Market participants will watch for Arca’s listing notice as the final confirmation, with trading set to begin once the exchange posts the effective date.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
