Altcoin ETF Wave Takes Off with Staked Ethereum and Worldcoin on Tap

The crypto ETF market has seen significant growth in recent years, and now it's expanding beyond Bitcoin. In the last two years, US spot ETFs for cryptocurrencies like Solana, XRP, and Ethereum have launched, attracting millions of dollars in investment.

Solana and XRP funds have been live since late 2025, gathering billions in their first stretch. Meanwhile, BlackRock's staked Ethereum product has pulled in about $100 million on its first day, passing the roughly 3% staking yield through to investors.

Grayscale has just filed with the SEC to launch the first US spot ETF tracking Worldcoin's WLD token, proposed for Nasdaq under the ticker GWLD. This move signals that issuers now believe the regulatory path extends well past blue-chip cryptocurrencies.

The key factor differentiating these new ETFs from their predecessors is yield-bearing staking. Solana's ETFs broke this mold by launching with staking enabled, and Ethereum has since followed suit through BlackRock.