Bitwise Uploads Documents to Launch Dogecoin (DOGE) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has uploaded documents to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to the price of dogecoin (DOGE)

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has filed paperwork to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will track the price of memecoin dogecoin (DOGE), according to a Tuesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing, an S-1 document, is required for any company that wants to issue a new security and have it listed on a public stock exchange.

Earlier this month, several crypto ETFs were filed by investment managers Rex Shares and Osprey Funds, which included dogecoin among other memecoins.

However, Bitwise's filing is different in that it is filed under the '33 Act as opposed to the 40 Act, which Rex and Osprey filed under, noted Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

S-1s filed under the '33 Act are typically used for niche, commodity-based ETFs while filing under the 40 Act provides stronger investor protection as it requires the issuer to meet further SEC rules. Among other things, the 40 Act limits leverage and short-selling and requires stricter fiduciary oversight and governance.

Bitwise is the issuer of several crypto ETFs and has several applications pending, including one for an XRP (XRP) ETF.

While the S-1 documents is a first step in launching an ETF, the more crucial filing is the 19b-4, which is required to signal a requisite rule change at the stock exchange seeking to list the investment and ties the SEC to a strict deadline.

Previously, a memecoin ETF would have been a nearly unthinkable investment vehicle under Gary Gensler's SEC, which gave issuers a hard time even launching a spot bitcoin ETF, but the possibility of such funds now seems more likely than ever after the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump.

Not only has Trump promised crypto-friendly policies, but after the launch of his own memecoins, TRUMP and MELANIA, it’s become clear that the President himself is a fan of memecoins.