The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light for the Bitwise Chainlink ETF to list on the NYSE Arca exchange under the ticker symbol CLNK. The approval, formalized through an effective Form 8-A filing on January 5, marks a significant step for regulated crypto investment products and triggered an immediate positive reaction in the market for Chainlink's native token, LINK.
Bitwise, a major crypto asset manager with approximately $15 billion in assets under management, received approval from NYSE Arca to list its spot Chainlink ETF. The fund is expected to launch imminently, joining the existing Grayscale Chainlink ETF (GLNK). To attract early investors, Bitwise has instituted a full fee waiver for the first three months, applicable to up to $500 million in assets. After this period, the management fee will be set at 0.34%.
The ETF will be seeded with an initial basket valued at $2.5 million, comprising 100,000 shares at $25 each, purchased by Bitwise Investment Manager LLC. The fund's structure involves key institutional partners: Coinbase Custody will serve as the crypto custodian for the underlying LINK tokens, while BNY Mellon will act as the cash custodian. The ETF will track the spot price of LINK using the CME CF Chainlink–Dollar Reference Rate.
In a notable detail, the filing lists a secondary investment objective for LINK staking, naming Attestant Ltd as the preferred staking agent should this feature be enabled in the future.
The news catalyzed a strong market response. LINK's price surged over 2% following the announcement, reaching approximately $14. Trading volume spiked by nearly 49% in 24 hours, and futures open interest rose to almost $675 million, indicating heightened trader activity. Analyst Ali Martinez suggested LINK could continue its push toward a key resistance level near $14.63.
This development occurs alongside sustained institutional interest in Chainlink products. Grayscale's GLNK ETF recorded inflows of $2.24 million on Monday alone, bringing its total net inflows to $62.22 million and total assets under management to $87.64 million. Grayscale has also waived its 0.35% management fee for three months or until the fund reaches $1 billion in AUM.
