Grayscale’s first U.S. spot exchange-traded fund tied to Chainlink opened with solid demand, adding another data point to the debate over whether the appetite for altcoins can survive a cooling crypto market.
Key points to remember:
- Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas says the Chainlink ETF opened with $41 million in inflows and $13 million in volume.
- The debut beat Solana’s launch, but lagged behind the $243 million first-day influx of XRP reported by SosoValue.
- ETF analyst James Seyffart warned it was not a blockbuster.
Despite a pullback in major tokens in recent weeks, the new fund attracted significant capital on its first trading day.
Chainlink ETF debut attracts $41M, signaling demand for regulated altcoins
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the product ended its first session with $41 million in net inflows and around $13 million in trading volume.
The figures place Chainlink among the biggest ETF launches this year and suggest that, at least for some investors, regulated vehicles remain the preferred route into higher-risk digital assets.
The index sits well above the opening day of the Solana ETF, which saw just $8.2 million in volume according to data from Farside Investors.
Nonetheless, the XRP ETF remains the category heavyweight, seeing $243 million in inflows on its first day, according to SosoValue.
Despite this, analysts have called for restraint. James Seyffart said the launch was not a “blockbuster,” although he noted the fund quickly reached about $64 million in assets under management, including an $18 million seed allocation.
“Chainlink shows that less liquid products can still attract attention in an ETF package,” he wrote, highlighting the role that exchange-traded funds can play in expanding market access.
For Chainlink itself, the debut offered little immediate relief. The LINK token is up nearly 10% over the past week but remains down more than 39% over the past year, according to price data cited by Cointelegraph.
The appeal of Chainlink lies in its role as infrastructure. The network provides on-chain applications with external data, allowing price feeds, cross-chain transfers, and tokenized assets to operate reliably.
As demand for decentralized finance and tokenization of real-world assets increases, investors appear willing to take a closer look at even second-tier tokens.
New Altcoin ETFs Steal the Show as Bitcoin Funds Struggle
The new Chainlink ETF comes amid the rollout of a wave of new altcoin ETFs.
Over the past month, issuers have launched products linked to Solana, XRP and Dogecoin, with more XRP and Dogecoin funds expected to list next week.
The Canary Capital
BSOL quickly became one of the early success stories of 2025, accumulating over $660 million in assets in three weeks and avoiding a single day of capital outflows.
As reported, the New York Stock Exchange approved the listing of Grayscale’s XRP and Dogecoin exchange-traded funds, allowing both products to begin trading on Monday.
NYSE Arca, the exchange’s ETF-focused subsidiary, filed certifications on Friday confirming the listing and registration of Grayscale XRP Trust ETF Shares and Grayscale Dogecoin Trust ETF Shares under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Bitwise Asset Management also unveiled the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF as investor appetite for altcoin exposure continues to rise.
Grayscale’s Spot Chainlink ETF Raises $41M in Debut Despite Market Uncertainty appeared first on Cryptonews.
