Dogecoin ETF Goes Live: Did the ’Meme Fund’ Deliver Serious Returns?

Another Dogecoin exchange-traded fund just hit the market—and traders are watching to see if the joke's on them.

The Launch Rollercoaster

Forget quiet debuts. This ETF's first day played out like classic crypto theater: volatile swings, breathless social media commentary, and a trading volume that spiked faster than a Shiba Inu chasing a laser pointer. It wasn't just about price—it was a litmus test for institutional appetite towards an asset born from an internet meme.

What The Tape Revealed

The fund didn't just track Dogecoin; it mirrored its entire chaotic personality. Early momentum got some traditional finance desks interested, only to face the classic crypto head-fake. Analysts noted the spread—the gap between the ETF's price and the underlying asset—tightened and widened like an accordion, giving arbitrageurs a brief workout. It's the kind of action that makes a market maker's algorithm sweat.

The Bigger Picture: Meme or Mainstream?

This launch isn't an isolated event. It's another brick in the wall separating crypto's wild west past from its regulated, accessible future. Each new ETF, even for a so-called 'meme coin,' further legitimizes the asset class by wrapping it in the familiar, boring packaging of a ticker symbol and a prospectus. Wall Street's slowly realizing the future might be built on code, jokes, and community—not just quarterly earnings reports.

Let's be real—nothing says 'mature financial market' quite like packaging a dog joke into a fee-generating product for accredited investors. The irony is thicker than a blockchain ledger. Yet, here we are: the ultimate testament to crypto's disruptive power isn't just decentralization; it's the ability to turn a viral sensation into something a wealth manager can put in a client's portfolio. The market's verdict? It's still early, but one thing's clear: in modern finance, even the dogs get their day—and now, their own ETF.

21Shares Launches Dogecoin ETF

In a press release on Thursday, January 22, 21Shares announced the official launch of its Spot Dogecoin ETF, TDOG, which began trading on NASDAQ the same day. The new ETF provides investors with direct exposure to Dogecoin through a fully backed, regulated, and transparent vehicle. Each ETF share is also backed 1:1 by DOGE held in institutional-grade custody. 

Notably, the launch of the new TDOG ETF brings the total number of US dogecoin ETFs to three, joining Grayscale’s GDOG and Bitwise’s BWOW. 21Shares is also the only ETF provider endorsed by House of Doge, the official corporate arm of the Dogecoin foundation, highlighting the global asset manager’s close ties to the meme coin. 

As one of the largest crypto ETF issuers, 21Shares continues to expand its crypto product lineup with the introduction of TDOG. This follows the investment company’s previous ETF offerings, including TSOL, a Solana ETF released in November 2025; ARKB, a Spot Bitcoin ETF launched in January 2024; and TETH, an ethereum ETF introduced in July of the same year. Together, these products demonstrate 21Shares’ commitment to providing institutional-grade access to high-demand digital assets. 

Federick Brokate, Global Head of Business Development at 21Shares, highlighted DOGE’s large and active global community, calling it a unique digital asset with constantly growing use cases. He added that the new TDOG ETF will give investors regulated, physically backed exposure through a familiar ETF structure they know and trust. 

Marco Margiotta, the CEO of House of Doge, also shared comments on the recently launched 21Shares ETF. He said that TDOG is a step toward making Dogecoin easier to access through traditional financial systems. He also disclosed that House of Doge’s partnership with 21Shares will help more people get involved as the Dogecoin ecosystem grows. 

How 21Shares Dogecoin ETF Has Performed So Far

Contrary to expectations, 21Shares’ recently launched Dogecoin ETF saw weak performance on the first day of trading, signaling investors’ lack of interest in the investment product. Data from SoSoValue shows that TDOG experienced no inflows on January 22 and instead declined by about 0.07%. Despite it being the second day of trading, the DOGE ETF has still not registered any flows. 

This lackluster performance has been observed across all Dogecoin ETFs this week. Grayscales’ GDOG and Bitwise BWOW have reported zero inflows over the last week. The last time GDOG saw positive activity was on January 8, when it received around $333,083 in investments. Before that, the ETF recorded its highest inflows on January 2, totaling roughly $2.3 million. Since its launch in November 2025, GDOG ETF inflows have been unstable, with more days of inactivity than significant investment.