Dogecoin ETF registered amid Elon Musk’s publicity stunts

Asset manager Bitwise Asset Management has officially submitted a registration filing for a Dogecoin-backed (DOGE) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Bitwise confirmed that a registration request for its Bitwise Dogecoin ETF was filed on Wednesday in a message to industry news outlet The Block. The registration request took place in Delaware and is a preliminary step before submitting an official ETF proposal to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas was quick to notice the filing. He wrote in a Jan. 23 X post:

“Bitwise Doge ETF likely coming soon.”

A potential ETF approval by the SEC would allow institutional investors to acquire exposure to Dogecoin. Furthermore, it could potentially drive more conservative capital to also pour into the memecoin.

Dogecoin is the world’s first memecoin and also the largest by market cap. At the time of writing, DOGE is the seventh top digital asset with a market cap of $52.2 billion. Currently, Dogecoin is trading at $0.3534 after having lost 1.15% of its value over the last 24 hours and over 9% over the last seven days.

The news follows Dogecoin’s price jumping higher after the Elon Musk-led United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) launched its website featuring the memecoin. The United States Department of Government Efficiency’s website went live on Jan. 21 at doge.gov. The website points out that it is “an official website of the United States government,” presumably because it does not look like one.

Musk has been a Dogecoin driver for a long time. In late November the memecoin also rallied amid speculation that he would integrate it into his social media app X, formerly known as Twitter.

In fact, Musk and his electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla were sued for allegedly defrauding Dogecoin investors. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein claimed that Musk’s Dogecoin-related claims and statements were “aspirational and puffery, not factual and susceptible to being falsified.” Still, the lawsuit was later dismissed.

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