Chainlink jumped 8% to $13.06 on Tuesday as Grayscale Investments rolled out the first U.S. exchange-traded fund tied to LINK, giving investors a regulated way to gain exposure to the oracle network through traditional brokerage accounts.
The ETF trades under the ticker GLNK on NYSE Arca and converts Grayscale’s existing Chainlink Trust into a publicly listed product.
The trust previously operated as a private placement and holds more than $17 million in assets under management. Inkoo Kang, Grayscale’s senior vice president of ETFs, said Chainlink has become the market standard for verifiable data and cross-chain connectivity powering tokenization and decentralized finance across public blockchains.
At its core, Chainlink solves one of crypto’s biggest problems. Blockchains cannot natively access real-world data. Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network bridges that gap by feeding off-chain information such as prices, weather data, and even election results into smart contracts, allowing decentralized applications to react to events beyond the blockchain.
The protocol also enables communication between separate blockchains. That cross-chain functionality allows data and value to move between networks that would otherwise remain isolated.
As a result, Chainlink has become foundational infrastructure for DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and tokenized assets, securing tens of billions of dollars in on-chain value, according to Grayscale.
GLNK holds LINK tokens on behalf of shareholders, offering indirect exposure without requiring investors to custody digital assets themselves. However, the fund is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning it does not include the same consumer protections as traditional ETFs and mutual funds.
The timing is notable. Chainlink is still down 39% since January, reflecting broader weakness across the crypto market. Even so, LINK remains among the top 25 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, underscoring its continued relevance despite the drawdown.
Grayscale first launched its Chainlink product as a private placement in 2021 and moved it to OTC Markets in 2022. The NYSE Arca listing significantly broadens access, making the ETF easier to trade for both institutional and retail investors seeking regulated crypto exposure.
GLNK is part of a broader push. In recent weeks, Grayscale has introduced ETFs tied to XRP, Dogecoin, and Solana, and the firm is now pursuing SEC approval for what could become the first-ever Zcash ETF. The strategy is clear.
Grayscale is steadily building a bridge between traditional finance and crypto infrastructure that has already proven its staying power.
