Key Takeaways:
- 21Shares has just submitted a new filing with the SEC for a spot Dogecoin ETF in the U.S.
- The fund would track DOGE directly, with Coinbase Custody set to be the preferred custodian.
- The firm proposed a similar ETP in Switzerland, and both will be in partnership with the Dogecoin Foundation.
- Other asset managers like Bitwise and Grayscale have filed for DOGE ETFs, among other cryptocurrencies.
- Technical analysis shows that the memecoin is ready for a breakout based on the Wyckoff Accumulation pattern.
The race to bring memecoins to mainstream investors has jumped another step forward.
On 9 April, 21Shares submitted a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot Dogecoin ETF.
This move now positions 21 Shares alongside other major asset managers like Bitwise and Grayscale, who have also proposed similar funds to bring Dogecoin to more institutional portfolios.
Let’s take a look at what this means for the market, as well as why Dogecoin might be in for more serious use cases than before.
A New Chapter for Dogecoin
21 Shares outlined plans for the proposed Dogecoin ETF in its Form S-1 filing.
According to said filing, the ETF aims to directly track the price of the main Dogecoin cryptocurrency, similar to the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the US.
If approved, this would give more traditional investors a more regulated exposure to Dogecoin without having to directly purchase the token itself.
21Shares plans to partner with Coinbase Custody to hold the fund’s assets securely.
However, details like the fund’s fee structure, trading ticker or the exchange it will be listed on still remain a mystery.
To move forward with this filing, 21Share still needs to submit another filing called the Form 19b-4, which will officially begin the SEC review process.
It is worth noting that this isn’t the company’s first attempt at a crypto ETF.
21Shares already offers investors spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs and even has Polkadot and XRP ETFs in the works.
However, the Dogecoin filing stands out in that the memecoin is now making its way up in the world, after starting out as a joke.
From Joke to Institutional Asset
Dogecoin was launched in 2013 as a playful fork of Bitcoin. It was originally meant to be a mockery of the Bitcoin hype at the time.
However, a decade and two years after, Dogecoin has become the eighth largest cryptocurrency on the market, with a market cap of $24.2 billion.
The memecoin’s low transaction fees and fast processing speeds have made it highly popular over the years.
This is without mentioning its massive online following and high-profile endorsements from the likes of Elon Musk.
So far, Dogecoin has become one of the most recognized names in the crypto industry.
Now with more and more asset managers eyeing Dogecoin for institutional products, the cryptocurrency’s future might be set to detach completely from the memecoin narrative.
Partnering with the Dogecoin Foundation
In an effort to boost credibility, 21Shares has also collaborated with the Dogecoin Foundation’s commercial arm, called the House of Doge.
The role of the House of Doge will mostly be focused on marketing and promoting the ETF.
Interestingly, this partnership goes beyond the US alone. In the same announcement as the filing, 21 Shares mentioned that a physically-backed Dogecoin ETP on Switzerland’s SIX Swiss Exchange is expected to go live soon.
This ETP will trade under the ticker “DOGE” and will charge a 2.5% management fee.
According to 21Shares president Duncan Moir, Dogecoin is more than just a cryptocurrency.
He believes that Dogecoin “represents a cultural movement that continues to drive mainstream adoption.”
Why Dogecoin ETFs Are Heating Up?
The push for a Dogecoin ETF is not just coming from 21 Shares.
Other asset managers like Bitwise (which has over $12 billion in assets) recently filed a Form 19b-4 via NYSE Arca to get its own DOGE ETF approved.
At the same time, the NYSE Arca also submitted something similar recently on behalf of Grayscale.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart says that this wave of filings is part of what he describes as a “spaghetti cannon approach.”
The spaghetti cannon approach in this case refers to a situation in which asset managers try out multiple crypto products to see which ones the SEC might accept.
According to Seyffart and fellow analyst Eric Balchunas, there is now a 75% chance that a spot Dogecoin ETF will be approved this year.
It also aligns with Polymarket odds, which currently sit at around 64%.
Dogecoin’s Price Outlook
While the ETFs are making headlines in the traditional finance space, technical analysts are on the lookout for opportunities on Dogecoin’s price chart.
According to crypto analyst Trader Tardigrade in a recent post via X (formerly Twitter), Dogecoin is completing a Wyckoff Accumulation pattern.
This setup, according to the analyst, has been seen before in major bullish breakouts.
For some context, the Wyckoff Accumulation pattern is made up of five phases (A–E).
At present, Dogecoin appears to be in phase D, which is typically earmarked by higher lows and testing key resistance somewhere around $0.178.
This means that if Dogecoin were to break above this price level, it would freely enter Phase E, which typically signals a strong uptrend, or a “Sign of Strength” (SOS) rally.
The analyst predicts that if this pattern holds, Dogecoin could surge to around 50% and rise towards $0.21.
What’s Next?
The crypto industry is still waiting for the SEC’s response to these filings.
However, momentum is undeniably building. If these filings are approved, the 21Shares Dogecoin ETF could mark a major milestone, not just for Dogecoin but for the memecoin industry as a whole.
Crypto, memecoin and utility coin alike will become more and more legitimate investment vehicles.
For now, all eyes will remain on the SEC and Dogecoin’s resistance levels.
Whether the next rally will be driven by serious trading strategies or internet memes remains to be seen.
However, Dogecoin is moving further everyday from being seen as a joke and nothing more.
