Grayscale Chainlink ETF Launches with $41 Million on Opening Day, but Lacks ‘Blockbuster’ Status

Grayscale’s recent introduction of the first U.S. spot Chainlink exchange-traded fund (ETF) garnered significant attention on its inaugural trading day. This demonstrates that investors are still interested in regulated altcoin offerings, despite a general downturn in the cryptocurrency market.

Key Takeaways

Grayscale's Chainlink ETF attracted $41 million in net inflows on its first day.
It showcased $13 million in trading volume, indicating solid interest from investors.
The debut highlights ongoing demand from institutional investors for regulated altcoin products.
Comparatively, the Solana ETF launched with $8.2 million, while the spot XRP ETF had $243 million in first-day inflows.
Despite a successful initial performance, the Chainlink ETF is not deemed a "blockbuster" success.

Grayscale's Chainlink ETF opened with cumulative net inflows of $41 million and a trading volume of $13 million on its first day, according to Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, who shared the news in a Wednesday X post. He remarked, “$41m in first-day flows. Another instant-hit from the crypto world, only dud so far was Doge, but it’s still early.” This strong debut suggests that institutional and professional investors are patiently waiting for more regulated avenues to gain exposure to altcoins that fit into corporate or fund strategies.

Comparison Chart
Source: Eric Balchunas

In contrast, the Solana ETF only registered $8.2 million on its opening day, based on data from Farside Investors. Meanwhile, the spot XRP ETF remains the frontrunner in this year’s altcoin ETF launches with a substantial $243 million in first-day inflows.

XRP ETF Inflows
Source: SosoValue.com

Grayscale Chainlink ETF Launches

ETF Debut: Not a “Blockbuster,” but Still Promising

Although the Chainlink ETF’s launch was not categorized as a “blockbuster success,” ETF analyst James Seyffart noted in a Wednesday X post that the fund is already valued at $64 million, surpassing its initial $18 million seed allocation. He mentioned, “Chainlink showing that longer tail assets can find success in the ETF wrapper too.” In finance, long-tail assets refer to those that are not highly popular or liquid, often carrying higher risks and potential rewards.

Despite the LINK token’s price increasing by 9.8% over the past week, the ETF’s debut could not mitigate the token's overall decline of more than 39% in the past year, according to the available data.

LINK/USD Chart
Source: Cointelegraph

LINK serves as the native utility token of the Chainlink network. It rewards validator node operators and covers costs for the protocol's oracle data feed services. Chainlink supplies decentralized applications and asset tokenization protocols with trustworthy real-world data feeds, ensuring secure and accurate execution of smart contracts. The network's decentralized oracle service and cross-chain interoperability are crucial for developers looking to construct more complex decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

Magazine Feature: Solana vs Ethereum ETFs, Facebook’s Role in Bitwise — Hunter Horsley