Bitwise Asset Management has made a significant move by applying to a Dogecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which was verified by its Chief Investment Officer, Matt Hougan. The application was filed on January 23, with the Dogemania ETF meaning this is the first significant effort of any financial institution to launch a DOGE-centric exchange-traded fund.
Dogecoin was started in 2013 as a joke by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer but became a major contender in the crypto space. Its Shiba Inu logo and tongue-in-cheek origins meant it was once seen as a niche token.
Yet an impassive Dogecoin has re-emerged as a core pillar of everyday business fueled by its adoption under the newly founded Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) spearheaded by President Donald Trump.
The D.O.G.E. department had recently posted Dogecoin’s logo on its official website, which created some buzz in the crypto community. At publication time, the token is the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, trading at around $0.36, with a $54 billion market cap.
The filing is timely given a shift toward a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under the Trump administration in the United States. Matt Hougan, who confirmed the filing, “This was from us.” That follows an apparent dissociation from reality shown by many industry experts, including ETF Store President Nate Geraci, who have been astounded that it took this long for a Dogecoin ETF proposal to surface.
The filing comes amid goodwill over regulatory reforms pushed for by the new administration. SEC also announced a crypto task force led by Hester Peirce to reform the regulatory framework for the overall ecosystem including coins such as Solana, XRP, Bitcoin, and Doge.
And Bitwise isn’t the only player interested in the crypto ETF race. Recently, Osprey Funds and Rex Shares filed for multiple ETFs that would offer proposals for Dogecoin, Solana, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and even a Trump-themed meme coin launched under the current administration.
