The Bitwise spot LINK exchange-traded fund has appeared on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation's registry, signaling the product may launch in the near future.
DTCC added the Bitwise Chainlink ETF to its active and pre-launch categories on Tuesday under ticker symbol CLNK. While the listings don't guarantee Securities and Exchange Commission approval, they have historically served as strong indicators that products are moving toward market debut.
The post-trade infrastructure platform handles clearing, settlement, and transaction recording for U.S. markets, serving as a central hub to ensure trades in stocks and ETFs are processed efficiently. DTCC listings typically appear shortly before products receive final regulatory clearance and begin trading on exchanges.
Bitwise filed a Form S-1 statement for the ETF in August to register the product with the SEC. The fund seeks to track the price of Chainlink, the token powering a decentralized oracle network that provides real-time data to smart contracts on blockchain networks.
The company has not yet filed a Form 8-A, one of the final documents required before securities are offered on exchanges. This filing often indicates a product's launch is imminent, with recent examples showing ETFs beginning trading within days of Form 8-A submissions.
Grayscale is also developing a spot LINK ETF but may face additional regulatory challenges as it seeks to incorporate staking into the product structure. The competing offerings highlight growing institutional interest in Chainlink's oracle technology and its role in connecting blockchain networks to external data sources.
Dozens of spot crypto ETFs currently await SEC approval amid the U.S. government shutdown, now in its 42nd day. The Senate passed a funding bill expected to end the shutdown this week, potentially clearing the way for regulatory reviews to resume normal operations.
Crypto asset managers have filed ETFs tracking increasingly diverse altcoins, hoping to attract investor attention. Pending applications include products for DOGE, Solana, Aptos, Avalanche and Hedera, reflecting expanding institutional appetite for cryptocurrency investment vehicles beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The SEC created generic listing standards in September that enable approval of crypto investment products without case-by-case reviews. However, the government shutdown began shortly after these rules were released, forcing the SEC to operate with limited capacity and funding before the new streamlined process could be fully implemented.