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The long-anticipated spot Chainlink ETF era has officially begun after the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved Bitwise Asset Management’s application to list a spot LINK exchange-traded fund on NYSE Arca.
The decision positions Bitwise’s product as the second spot Chainlink ETF available to US investors, following Grayscale’s LINK fund, which began trading earlier this month.
According to filings published on the SEC’s website, the Bitwise fund will trade under the ticker CLNK and could begin trading as soon as this week.
The approval gives institutional and retail investors direct price exposure to Chainlink without the need to custody the underlying digital asset, a structure regulators have increasingly accepted following the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The SEC’s approval follows Bitwise’s submission of a Form 8-A registration and a second amended S-1 prospectus, both required under the Securities Act of 1933 for securities listed on national exchanges. These filings detailed the structure, fees, and operational framework of the spot Chainlink ETF, addressing regulatory concerns around custody, valuation, and investor protections.
Under the prospectus, the trust will charge a unitary management fee of 0.34% annually, calculated based on the value of the LINK held by the fund. To attract early inflows, Bitwise has agreed to waive its sponsor fee for the first three months on up to $500 million in assets under management.
Shares of the spot Chainlink ETF will be created and redeemed in blocks of 10,000 shares, known as baskets. Each basket corresponds to a specific amount of LINK per share, adjusted for accrued expenses and liabilities.
Bitwise appointed Coinbase as the custodian for the trust, tasking the exchange with safeguarding LINK held in segregated accounts. Custody arrangements have been a central issue for regulators, making Coinbase’s role a key pillar supporting approval of the spot Chainlink ETF.
Notably, the prospectus confirms that staking is not part of the fund’s current investment strategy. However, Bitwise left the door open for future changes.
“The amended registration statement will include a detailed description of the Trust’s staking program under a section entitled ‘STAKING,’” the filing stated, adding that the trust may eventually stake some or all of its Chainlink holdings as a secondary investment objective.
This flexibility could give the spot Chainlink ETF an edge over competitors if regulators permit yield-generating features at a later stage.
The approval underscores Bitwise’s aggressive push into crypto exchange-traded products. The San Francisco-based asset manager had a packed 2025, submitting applications for more than 11 crypto ETFs through N-1A filings with the SEC.
These proposed “strategy” ETFs aim to combine direct token exposure—up to 60% of fund assets—with indirect exposure through related exchange-traded products. Assets targeted include Aave, NEAR, Sui, Starknet, Uniswap, Tron, and Zcash.
Earlier milestones include Bitwise becoming the first issuer to launch a spot Solana ETF in the US in October, followed by XRP and Dogecoin ETFs the next month. More recently, the firm filed paperwork for a spot Sui ETF and an amended Hyperliquid ETF application, cementing its reputation as one of the most active players in the spot Chainlink ETF and broader crypto ETP race.
Chainlink’s price responded quickly to news of the spot Chainlink ETF approval. LINK climbed more than 9.8% over the past week, reaching around $14.18, according to CoinGecko data. Trading activity also surged, with daily volume jumping nearly 45%.
Derivatives data from Coinglass showed futures open interest rising to approximately $665 million, suggesting traders are opening new positions rather than closing existing ones—a sign of heightened market engagement following the ETF announcement.
However, momentum cooled shortly after the initial rally. LINK slipped about 1.5% over the last 24 hours, reflecting broader market hesitation.
Despite the regulatory win, some technical analysts remain cautious. Several market watchers point to weakening momentum indicators and warn of a potential pullback toward $13.20, or even $12.80, if selling pressure increases.
“These levels are critical areas to watch for bearish confirmation,” one technical analyst noted, citing possible rejection candles or failure swings that could cap upside in the short term—even as the spot Chainlink ETF narrative remains a longer-term bullish catalyst.
The approval of a spot Chainlink ETF marks another step in the SEC’s evolving stance toward crypto-backed securities. After greenlighting spot Bitcoin ETFs and gradually expanding approvals to other digital assets, regulators appear more comfortable with transparent, physically backed structures that rely on established custodians and surveillance mechanisms.
For Chainlink, whose oracle network underpins large portions of the decentralized finance ecosystem, the ETF provides validation beyond price action. It also opens the door to pension funds, RIAs, and traditional investors who previously lacked compliant access to LINK.
As trading begins, all eyes will be on early inflows and whether the spot Chainlink ETF can replicate the demand seen in earlier spot crypto products. If successful, it could accelerate approvals for additional altcoin ETFs—and further reshape the intersection of Wall Street and crypto markets.
