Grayscale Investments has taken a significant step to expand its crypto ETF offerings by filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to enable options trading on its CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF (GDLC). The filing was submitted by NYSE American, which seeks a rule change to list and trade physically settled, American-style options on GDLC shares. This move aims to provide investors with greater flexibility and risk management tools, allowing them to hedge positions or speculate on price movements.
The GDLC ETF, approved by the SEC in September under Generic Listing standards, tracks a basket of five major digital assets. Its current allocations are 75.20% Bitcoin (BTC), 15.69% Ethereum (ETH), 5.41% XRP, 3.09% Solana (SOL), and 0.61% Cardano (ADA). If approved, this would mark one of the first multi-asset crypto ETFs in the U.S. to offer options trading, further integrating digital assets into mainstream financial markets. The SEC has already approved options trading on spot Bitcoin ETFs, such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
In a separate but related development, Grayscale completed its quarterly rebalance for the Grayscale Smart Contract (GSC) Fund, effective after the market closed on January 6, 2026. The rebalance, based on the CoinDesk Smart Contract Platform Select Capped Index methodology, adjusted the fund's portfolio weights. Solana (SOL) now leads the fund with a 29.55% allocation, followed closely by Ethereum (ETH) at 29%. Cardano (ADA) secured the third position with an 18.55% share, surpassing other assets like Sui, Avalanche, and Hedera.
Grayscale noted that Cardano's weighting has evolved since its initial inclusion in the GSC Fund in March 2022, when it held 24.63%. The adjustments reflect standard quarterly rebalancing practices to ensure proportional exposure based on asset performance and eligibility. Beyond the GSC Fund, Cardano remains part of the Grayscale Digital Large Cap (GDLC) ETF, and the firm has disclosed plans to pursue a spot Cardano ETF, though no timeline for regulatory approval has been announced.
The news comes amid market volatility, with Bitcoin price falling below $90,000 and Ethereum testing the $3,000 support level, partly due to U.S. jobs data and crypto options expiry jitters. Analyst Ted Pillows suggested Bitcoin could still reach $98,000-$100,000 before any major downtrend.
