'$50 Billion Under Management' US Grayscale Highlights STORY (IP)

Selected as 'Top 20 Coin' alongside BTC·ETH·SOL

"Institutional money is coming in"... Hopes high for mainstream integration

Possibility for 'large-scale adoption' through global artist IP acquisition

1st in Bithumb's rise this year... ETF launch possibility draws attention

The blockchain-based intellectual property (IP) project STORY has been drawing industry attention after being included on June 26 (local time) in the US asset manager Grayscale’s 'Top 20 Digital Asset List for Q2 2025.'

Grayscale is one of the largest asset managers in the digital asset sector, with over $50 billion (approx. ₩73 trillion) in assets under management. STORY was listed among Grayscale’s top 20 alongside mega-cap digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL).

STORY chosen by US Grayscale...Focus on possibility of mainstream integration

Grayscale's quarterly Top 20 list is regarded as an indicator for potential launches of new trust products and ETF conversions. In practice, 9 of the 20 assets in Grayscale's list have already launched as Grayscale trust products; among them, Bitcoin and Ethereum were the first spot ETFs approved in the US. Solana is also undergoing preliminary procedures for ETF conversion.

Grayscale is also seeking ETF conversions for digital assets—such as XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Dogecoin (DOGE)—that have not been included in the list but have previously been launched as trust products. Considering these trends, there is an assessment that STORY also has a long-term potential for inclusion in mainstream finance. Thanks to its real IP-based tokenization, copyright distribution, and the structure for sharing profits from derived content, STORY is seen as favorable for being financialized into regulated products.

Story is also expanding its presence in the blockchain IP industry through the acquisition of large-scale IP and the expansion of global partnerships. In line with this, STORY token 'IP' has shown the most striking price performance this year.

According to CoinMarketCap as of the 28th, IP has soared over 100% since its issuance in February, ranking in the top 3 for growth rate this year. Especially on the Korean exchange Bithumb, IP surged about 135% after listing, achieving the highest growth rate among the 40 crypto assets listed on Bithumb this year.

Global artist IP acquisition...Aiming for mass adoption by expanding real-world use cases

For example, STORY has secured a large number of world-class artist IPs through its Aria protocol, including BTS, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, BLACKPINK, Maroon 5, Miley Cyrus, and aespa. These various mega-hit IPs are being tokenized as real-world assets (RWA), distributed on the STORY blockchain, and are intended to drive large-scale adoption.

The IP registration platform 'IP Portal' is also garnering market interest. The open beta, unveiled on the 25th, is a blockchain-based system that allows anyone to easily upload content and register IP. On the very first day of open beta, IP Portal ranked No. 1 in Product Hunt's 'Top products launching today.'

Story defines the platform as a 'GitHub for IP' and aims to nurture it as an IP hub for global creators to utilize freely.

Last month, STORY became the first among crypto projects to join the global digital content certification coalition 'C2PA (The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity),' drawing industry attention. C2PA is an association established by global big tech firms such as Adobe, Google, and Microsoft (MS), setting technical standards to verify the provenance and editing history of digital content and prevent misinformation.

The Story protocol has emphasized the practical possibilities of blockchain by verifying content origins and preventing tampering through distributed ledger technology. The combination of C2PA’s tech infrastructure with STORY’s technology is seen as a 'flagship case of technological convergence,' as it enables both content reliability and copyright proofs.

STORY, which stands out in IP acquisition and technology commercialization, is said to be demonstrating strong competitiveness in the real-world asset tokenization (RWA) and intellectual property (IP) sectors—the same areas highlighted by Grayscale. As a result, there are prospects for increased institutional investor interest and further potential for mainstream integration.

In its official report, Grayscale stated, "STORY is a project aiming to bring the $70 trillion (approx. ₩10.26 quadrillion) IP market on-chain," adding, "It has brought the music of global artists like BTS and Justin Bieber onto the blockchain and has launched a blockchain and token specialized for IP." Grayscale went on to say, "STORY provides an environment where enterprises and individuals can invest in and trade IP and generate royalties."