Grayscale Launches Institutional Dogecoin Investment Fund

Grayscale Introduces Dogecoin Investment Fund Available to Institutional Investors
Grayscale Investments has launched a new Dogecoin investment fund, providing institutional investors with the opportunity to invest in the popular meme coin.
On January 31, Grayscale announced the creation of the Grayscale Dogecoin Trust, which will serve as a regulated platform for investors to access DOGE, the leading memecoin in terms of market capitalization.
The asset manager describes Dogecoin as “a peer-to-peer digital currency based on Litecoin, which itself was derived from Bitcoin.”
The Dogecoin fund is exclusively available to institutional investors, allowing them to gain exposure to DOGE without the need to directly hold the asset.
Similar to Bitcoin, Dogecoin operates on a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain, but with lower computational requirements for transaction verification and no maximum supply limit. This makes DOGE unique compared to many other digital assets.
Grayscale’s head of product and research, Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, emphasized the growth of Dogecoin, stating that it has evolved into a “potentially powerful tool for promoting financial accessibility.”
Grayscale’s move comes as institutional interest in memecoins continues to grow, an area that has traditionally been dominated by retail traders.
The launch of the Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on January 18, prior to Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, sparked a wave of speculation.
The meme coin gained significant traction on the Solana network, generating so much activity that it caused network congestion for several days.
Following this surge, asset managers Osprey Funds and REX Shares filed to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for DOGE, TRUMP, and Bonk (BONK) on January 21, indicating that meme coins are becoming a more serious asset class.
With the introduction of the Dogecoin Trust, Grayscale continues to expand its range of single-asset cryptocurrency investment products.
In recent months, the company has introduced funds for Lido (LDO), Optimism (OP), and Aave (AAVE).
Additionally, it has identified more than 35 altcoins, including Worldcoin (WLD), Pyth (PYTH), and Rune (RUNE), for potential future investment products.
As the world’s largest crypto fund manager, Grayscale currently oversees approximately $35 billion in assets as of December 2023.
The company is best known for its flagship Bitcoin and Ethereum investment trusts (GBTC and ETHE), which have played a significant role in institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Gensler’s Departure Sparks Increase in Crypto ETF Filings
Grayscale’s recent filing comes at a crucial time for the SEC and cryptocurrency ETFs, following the resignation of SEC Chair Gary Gensler on January 20.
Gensler, known for his cautious approach to crypto regulations, stepped down amidst mounting pressure for clearer regulatory guidelines in the digital asset space.
Recently, Tuttle Capital Management has filed applications for ten cryptocurrency-based leveraged ETFs, including funds tied to popular meme coins.
Analysts suggest that these filings are part of a broader strategy to test the boundaries of an SEC under crypto-friendly regulators from the Trump era.
The proposed ETFs include leveraged funds aiming to provide twice the returns of their underlying assets, such as the meme coins Official Trump (TRUMP) and Melania Meme (MELANIA).
Furthermore, Osprey Funds and REX Shares have also filed for meme coin ETFs covering Dogecoin (DOGE), Official Trump (TRUMP), and Bonk (BONK) on January 21.
Meanwhile, the SEC has granted initial approval for Bitwise Asset Management’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, which would track both BTC and ETH in a single fund.