Prominent asset management firm Bitwise has filed an S-1 registration form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering investors exposure to the leading meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
The filing proposed the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF, which would directly hold DOGE to track the memecoin’s price movements minus fees. It comes shortly after the firm registered a Dogecoin trust in Delaware, a preliminary step toward the potential launch of a DOGE ETF.
An S-1 filing makes the bid for a spot Dogecoin ETF official. Whether the SEC will approve the fund remains to be seen, as the regulator has so far only approved funds offering exposure to BTC and ETH, but it is now no lunger being run by Gary Gensler, who was accused of leading a crackdown on the industry.
We knew this was coming because they filed to register the trust last week but this makes it official with the SEC. https://t.co/J7GuVqujJw
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 28, 2025
The filing requires an accompanying 19b-4 filing to formally begin the regulatory review process. Bitwise has tapped Coinbase Custody to safeguard the ETF’s Dogecoin holdings, according to the filing, which did not disclose other key details, including the proposed fee structure, ticker symbol, and listing exchange.
Dogecoin, despite its origins as a light-hearted meme coin, has amassed a substantial market capitalization of approximately $47 billion as it has drawn interest form investors over various market cycles.
Potential Dogecoin ETF Approval
The SEC, after Republican candidate Donald Trump won the U.S. elections on a pro-crypto stance, has been bombard with requests to list various types of cryptocurrency ETFs, including leveraged funds offering exposure to XRP, SOL, and ADA.
Whether a Dogecoin ETF will be approved, however, is still up for debate. According to Bloomberg analyst James Seyffard, it isn’t clear whether the SEC will be approving these funds, despite having a new Chairman, Mark Uyeda, who is widely expected to be more pro-crypto.
Seyffart has on social media said that he isn’t “sure that even a libertarian-minded and Republican-controlled SEC will want to approve these products. But time will tell.”
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, colloquially known as the “Crypto Mom,” is set to lead a task force to explore how the regular can support the sector’s innovation while protecting investors.
