Bitwise Officially Files Spot Dogecoin ETF with US SEC

Digital asset manager Bitwise has officially submitted an S-1 registration application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot Dogecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

If approved, the fund would expose investors to the price of the eight-largest crypto by market cap. Dogecoin is trading at $0.32 at press time, per CoinGecko data.

Bitwise filed with federal regulators on Tuesday, week after it had submitted relevant registration documents in Delaware on January 22.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, said that the filing was much expected.

“We knew this was coming because they filed to register the trust last week but this makes it official with the SEC,” he wrote on X.

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 asset manager is already headed by Bitwise’s $4.5 billion Bitcoin ETF (BITB). It is hoping to get in among the flurry of memecoin ETFs, anticipated to be unleashed in the wake of pro-crypto administration.

“We have seen a lot of filings from a lot of issuers with a lot of ideas and I think that will continue,” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, told Financial Times.

“The reality is that there are a lot of people that want to invest in dogecoin. It’s the sixth-largest crypto asset in the world by market cap and it trades over $1bn a day.”

Bitwise Doge ETF Differs From Similar Previous Filings

Earlier, investment managers Rex Shares and Osprey Funds filed with the SEC to launch seven new cryptocurrency ETFs including DOGE.

However, according to senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, Bitwise’s filing differs from other memecoin ETF filings.

“This is the first ‘33 Act Doge filing,” he wrote on X. “Rex has on e-filed under 40 Act but that isn’t the same true blue physically backed structure.”

This means, S1 application filed under the ‘33 Act are used for commodity-based ETFs. In contrast, the 40 Act demands meeting more SEC rules and offers stronger investor protection.

Bitwise is already lined-up with several crypto ETF pending applications including its XRP ETF. Ripple President Monica Long believes that the favorable regulatory landscape under the new US administration could soon support the approval of ETFs tied to the XRP.

Meanwhile, Doge is trading at a descending triangle on the daily chart and experiencing a decline that began last week. It has seen a 51.7% decline in the volume in past 24 hours, per Coinmarketcap.