- Grayscale’s new ETF includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano, covering over 90% of the crypto market cap.
- The GDLC Fund has surged by more than 40% in 2025, outpacing Bitcoin, driven by strong performance from the fund’s assets.
- The SEC’s approval of new listing standards could facilitate future spot crypto ETFs, further expanding institutional access to cryptocurrency investments.
Grayscale has officially launched the Grayscale CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF (GDLC), marking a significant step forward in the cryptocurrency investment landscape. The ETF, which began trading on the NYSE this Friday, provides exposure to five of the largest cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano. These assets together represent over 90% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.
This is a step that follows the granting of the Grayscale conversion of its current Grayscale Digital Large Cap (GDLC) Fund into an ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This consent has allowed Grayscale to introduce a multi-asset crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) that will invest in different types of cryptocurrencies. The introduction of the ETF indicates the desire by Grayscale to deliver diversified and transparent access to the cryptocurrency market, which still draws both retail and institutional investors.
Bitcoin is the first, followed by Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
The GDLC Fund is a very popular product among cryptocurrency traders. In the past, it invested approximately 70% in Bitcoin and 20% in Ethereum, and the remaining 10% was divided among other large coins. Since the start of the fund in 2018, it has transacted in over-the-counter markets, yet its conversion into an ETF is creating new possibilities of reaching wider markets. GDLC’s current values have increased by over 40% in 2025 due to the good performance of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the rest of the cryptocurrencies in the fund. It is important to note that GDLC has gained almost 11% over the past few months compared to the performance of Bitcoin, due to the high performance of Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
The GDLC ETF will support the increasing trend of crypto investment products by offering multicultural exposure to cryptocurrencies to more investors. Besides having a broader array of assets, this ETF can also bring transparency and security to investors who are seeking regulated means of entering the crypto space. The shift is timed with the cryptocurrency prices hitting all-time highs, which has triggered the desire of both institutional investors and retail traders to buy them.
In a related move, new listing standards that were recently approved by the SEC have the potential to clear the path to the launch of more spot crypto ETFs under the 33 Act. It may be a very important decision in the future of crypto ETFs in the U.S., especially those that present the use of crypto futures, like those listed on Coinbase.
