21Shares Bets Big on Meme Magic: Files for First-Ever Dogecoin Spot ETF

Wall Street’s latest crypto play? Turning ’doge to the moon’ into an institutional-grade investment vehicle.

21Shares just lobbed a grenade into traditional finance’s stuffy ETF playground—filing for a spot Dogecoin ETF. Because nothing says ’serious asset class’ like a Shiba Inu-themed cryptocurrency that started as a joke.

The move follows BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF success, proving even the suits will chase retail hype when fees are on the table. Will regulators bite? That depends on whether the SEC considers ’vibes’ a sufficient underlying asset.

Other asset managers are racing into the same space. Grayscale, Bitwise, and REX Shares have also filed proposals for Dogecoin ETFs, riding the wave of Optimism that the Trump administration could fast-track approvals.

The SEC now faces a backlog of altcoin ETF applications. Bloomberg’s February estimates placed Litecoin ETFs at the top of likely approvals (90%), with Dogecoin funds following closely at 75%. Solana and XRP products are also strong contenders with 70% and 65% chances, respectively.

This surge of activity builds on the SEC’s earlier decisions to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and Ethereum ETFs later that July — developments that firmly opened the door for a broader range of crypto assets to enter U.S. markets through regulated investment vehicles.

If momentum continues, Dogecoin could soon become one of the next digital currencies to make the leap into the mainstream investing world.