Will crypto’s largest meme coin eventually make its own mark on Wall Street?
Following the approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs this year, asset managers have already filed applications for other products enabling investors to gain exposure to digital assets through a traditional brokerage account.
And it should be expected that firms will keep pushing the envelope further, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. Even Dogecoin could get its own spot ETF.
“The ETF industry is famous for throwing spaghetti at the wall,” he told Decrypt. “I imagine we'll see all kinds of stuff get attempted, including DOGE.”
“I'm actually surprised it hasn't been filed already,” Balchunas added.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved this year, but the first application was filed with regulators over a decade ago, and the process was marked by legal conflict brought on behalf of asset managers. Even though the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later approved spot Ethereum ETFs this year, the development was unexpected, and it remains to be seen how the regulator could treat applications for other crypto ETFs in the future.
Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon told Decrypt that regulators have historically scrutinized applications for crypto ETFs to a high degree, presenting a difficult road to approval for an asset like Dogecoin under the SEC current administration.
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When assessing applications for spot ETFs, the SEC has traditionally required that a digital asset, whether it’s Bitcoin or Ethereum, has both a regulated futures market and substantial amounts of liquidity in its spot market, Leon said. Under the framework established by current SEC leadership, “Doge wouldn't meet those qualifications,” he added.
With SEC Chair Gary Gensler likely to resign following Donald Trump’s White House win, however, Leon said the regulator could adopt a more lax attitude toward approving applications.
Even so, he thinks that ETFs for Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Avalanche (AVAX) would come first, as tokens with utility that aren’t commonly known for being a $55 billion joke.
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“If there is regulatory clarity [...], you could ostensibly see issuers pursue a Doge ETF, and I could see it getting approved at some point,” Leon said. “It certainly has demand from the retail audience, so I can see an issuer being interested in launching it.”
As Election Day approached, several asset managers sought approval for spot ETFs covering Ripple, Solana, and Litecoin. Filed in October, the SEC has yet to weigh in on them. Meanwhile, no firm has yet to file an application for a Dogecoin ETF, even outside the U.S.
According to Grayscale Head of Product and Research Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Dogecoin is the largest asset in the firm’s Consumer and Culture Crypto Sector. Classified as a leader in media and entertainment, Sharif-Askary told Decrypt that the meme coin is somewhat unique.
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Is Spirit Blockchain Capital trying to become the MicroStrategy of Dogecoin? According to CEO Lewis Bateman, the digital asset manager’s acquisition of Dogecoin Holdings—first revealed in October, with more details announced last week—was partly inspired by MicroStrategy's Bitcoin-buying playbook. But the Canadian firm says it has bigger plans than just leveraging the $48 billion meme coin as a treasury reserve asset. “We are going to hold a significant balance sheet of Dogecoin over the coming...
While playful in nature, she said that Dogecoin has seen real use as a peer-to-peer currency.
“Memes have existed since time immemorial,” she said, recalling cave paintings and Roman graffiti. “While it was once easy to dismiss meme coins due to their playful nature, it would be irresponsible to ignore DOGE’s usage on-chain and the very real use case that is being fulfilled.”
As an ETF candidate, Grayscale has had its finger on Dogecoin’s pulse. While not currently included in any of Grayscale’s products, the asset manager said in an October blog post that Dogecoin is “under consideration” for inclusion in future products
Edited by Andrew Hayward
