Summary I am accumulating The Grayscale Chainlink Trust ETF, which tracks ChainLink (LINK-USD), seeing high-risk, high-reward potential as crypto matures. ChainLink is the dominant oracle in decentralized finance, commanding close to 70% market share and strong partnerships with SWIFT, Mastercard, and JPMorgan. GLNK offers exposure to ChainLink's upside, but risks include token dilution, crypto volatility, and regulatory uncertainty pending the Clarity Act's passage. I see current sub-$10 prices as an accumulation opportunity for patient investors, with the potential for significant long-term upside as blockchain adoption grows. Buy When the Price is Down This past month, I've been accumulating The Grayscale Chainlink Trust ETF (GLNK), a spot price exchange-traded fund that tracks crypto oracle ChainLink (LINK-USD). In the high-risk, high-reward facet of investing, there's no more prominent and prevalent tranche currently than cryptocurrency. In the past four months, Bitcoin (BTC-USD), the poster child of digital assets, has been cut in half, taking most members of the asset class down in sympathy. There's a strong correlation in the crypto technology subsector, and as a result, as Bitcoin goes, so go its well-renowned brethren such as Ethereum (ETH-USD), Solana (SOL-USD), and ChainLink. ChainLink Price (Google Gemini) I don't believe this will be a permanent situation because, as the crypto industry matures and becomes more mainstream, each crypto will be judged on earnings, revenues, and financial expectations. The way things stand now, it's in the realm of day traders relying on article headlines, technical analysis, and social media posts. In other words, to use an old Wall Street expression, they are throwing away the baby with the bathwater. With the prospect of Bitcoin falling further, you are probably asking yourself, why crypto? Why ChainLink? Why the Grayscale Chainlink Trust ETF? I will get to all three questions in chronological order. Why Crypto? Crypto is a well-known asset class to investors. Prone to boom/bust cycles, it's still in its tween stage. I'm a believer that blockchain, the underlying technology of crypto, will be the backbone of the Internet as more industries digitize [tokenize] their assets, particularly in finance. BlackRock (BLK), JPMorgan (JPM), and Fidelity are all leading the way. Others are following quickly. It's only going to be another few years before everything in finance is on the blockchain and tokenized. Bitcoin will surely be a beneficiary in all this, but I don't know how to evaluate Bitcoin. Plus, with the advent of stablecoins such as Tether (USDT-USD) and Circle (CRCL), I'm not convinced that Bitcoin will be the go-to form of monetary exchange in the United States, as the Bitcoin enthusiasts claim. It will do well in third-world countries with unstable currencies and high inflation, but not in the U.S. of A. I stay away from it. Why ChainLink? ChainLink is a crypto oracle, which means it connects blockchains to outside data sources. It's a platform. Just as Windows ( MSFT ) is for the personal computer, AWS ( AMZN ) is for cloud computing, and NVIDIA ( NVDA ) is for artificial intelligence, ChainLink does the same for online finance. It has a lot of potential, but the operative word is potential. It's not there yet, but it has a great head start. According to the ChainLink website, as of December 2025, over $27 trillion in transactions have been done utilizing the company's service since 2022. In the overall scheme of things, this is a pittance when compared to the totality of the worldwide financial market. There's room to grow. It has revenues, too. DefiLlama states that the company has $53 million in sales for the last quarter with a market cap just under $6 billion and is selling at $8/token. If it seems expensive based on traditional fundamental investing metrics, it is. But you're paying for the future. It's the dominant oracle in decentralized finance, commanding close to 70% market share. It also has 84% market share on Ethereum, the leading blockchain in DeFi. The company has excellent partnerships. The Mastercard ( MA ) crypto initiative runs on ChainLink. JPMorgan's Kinexys utilizes ChainLink technology. UBS ( UBS ) and ICE [Intercontinental Exchange] are also in the portfolio. Blockchains Solana and Ethereum utilize ChainLink. These are just a few of the many partnerships ChainLink administers, and although impressive, the one I believe is the most important is the relationship with SWIFT. SWIFT [Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications] is a secure messaging network that initiates international payments such as wire transfers. ChainLink is becoming the de facto industry standard for all financial transactions. Although the token price is very volatile and under extreme pressure, I believe this is a good time to purchase it if you're a patient investor. NVIDIA did nothing from 2002 to 2012 until it started to run. I'm betting that ChainLink will have a similar story. I'm not suggesting that ChainLink will have the prolific gains of NVIDIA, but it could be a multi-bagger in the not-so-distant future. SQ Magazine reported in December 2025 that ChainLink has over 2,000 price feeds and oracle integrations operating under its umbrella. Plus, ChainLink’s Cross‑Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) now supports 50 blockchains after a recent expansion. It was only 15 months ago that annual transfer volume was $375 million. It's currently at $7.77 billion, an increase of almost 2,000%. ChainLink revenue for 2025 and the projection for the next four years are derived from the introduction of many catalysts: 2025 DeFi Price Feeds: Oracle Services generated $60 million per quarter, which includes price feeds and automation. In addition, the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol became a major driver following the Mastercard integration. 2026 CCIP for TradFi and Expanded Staking: The CCIP initiative transforms ChainLink into the "TCP/IP of blockchains." ChainLink morphs from a simple data provider into the universal connectivity layer for global finance. 2027 Tokenized Real-World Assets: The market has grown exponentially in recent years, and blue-chip financial institutions vary in their projections to 2030, but the consensus points toward a $4-10 trillion market. Citibank (C) says $5 trillion, while Ark Invest claims $11 trillion. 2028 Large-scale bank-to-bank settlement: Transaction fees should go down, not up, with the advent of tokenized real-world assets. The SWIFT system is projected to charge $5-20 per transaction for wire transfers. 2029 I nsurance automation 2030: ChainLink becomes a global standard These projections are made with enthusiastic expectations. The enclosed graph demonstrates what could come to fruition if they can execute their business plan. Projected ChainLink Revenues (Google Gemini) One billion ChainLink tokens have been created, with 700 million in circulation. A caveat here is that if more tokens are released on the open market, it may cause the price of ChainLink to drop. Plus, there's always the threat of a sell-off in Bitcoin lurking. The catalyst needed to get all cryptocurrencies back in gear is the passage of the Clarity Act. The Clarity Act is U.S. legislation that aims to introduce regulation to the crypto industry and would usher in institutional interaction with blockchains. It would also strengthen consumer protection. The Clarity Act passed in the House but needs to pass in the Senate. Originally scheduled to go to vote in the Senate in January 2026, it has been delayed because some crypto industry participants did not like the parameters of the Act. These industry participants are primarily crypto purists, most notably Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase (COIN). With further negotiations, the Clarity Act is likely to be passed for the benefit of both parties. Why the GLNK ETF? As mentioned previously, while the price of ChainLink is down, I'm accumulating shares of GLNK. Previously, I had a Coinbase account, but I was uncomfortable with having to use an authenticator to access my assets, was tired of all the phishing scams, and was petrified of being hacked. With the introduction of spot-price ETFs that I can purchase through my broker, I jumped back into the fray because I'm a big believer in ChainLink. Although there are spot-price ETFs for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, I'm choosing a utility token in ChainLink to invest in. A note of caution on GLNK. It is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is not subject to the same regulations and protections as 40 Act registered ETFs and mutual funds. This may change with the passing of the Clarity Act. A couple of notes on GLNK. It's been trading for a while based on futures contracts until December 2025. At that time, Grayscale changed the structure of the ETF to be exclusively a spot-price fund. Initially, Grayscale waived the expense ratio for investors for the first three months of ownership when they made the change. It remains free to own but will soon transition to an expense ratio of 0.35% annually. Thirty-five dollars for every $10,000 invested. As of late February 2026, GLNK is trading at a miniscule premium of approximately 0.14% to 0.30% over its Net Asset Value (NAV). In addition, there is a competing ETF in the Bitwise Chainlink ETF ( CLNK ). Some of you may prefer Bitwise over Grayscale. It's too early to get much of a sample size of how GLNK, the ETF, trades as compared to ChainLink, the crypto. ChainLink always trades at the market price, but GLNK can trade at a premium or discount to the token. The gap has narrowed since I've owned the ETF, but it's very close as a more than casual observer. Remember, GLNK only trades during market hours, and Grayscale makes adjustments when the market opens if the token ChainLink goes up or down. So if LINK goes up 2% overnight, the ETF will begin trading up 2% at the opening bell. Full disclosure, I primarily invest in S&P 500 Index Funds with minimal expense ratios but place a small percentage of my portfolio into equities or ETFs that I believe have a future. ChainLink is my current wager. Both LINK and GLNK are trading under $10 currently and are going lower. It's always a dangerous sign when an investment goes below the $10 mark. So buyer beware, and always use limit orders. Palantir ( PLTR ) advanced from $7/share to $220/share in two years. That's a nice gain. Reddit's ( RDDT ) Wall Street Bets, YouTube (GOOGL), and TikTok influencers, and plain old algos gone wild can propel an inexpensive investment higher in short time frames. I think that's where ChainLink is going in the next few years, and I'm willing to take my chances.