Bitwise CIO Hunter Horsley said Dogecoin has “become an icon of the crypto movement,” noting that the asset has maintained cultural relevance despite its origins as a joke. “It doesn’t purport to transform global capital markets or convince you it has fundamentals or utility […] and, against the odds, it has kept its relevance—and its value—longer than just about anything else in crypto,” Horsley stated.

The launch follows the debut of the Grayscale Dogecoin ETF (GDOG) on Monday, which became the first DOGE product released under the ’33 framework. An earlier product, the REX Osprey Dogecoin ETF, launched in September under the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning it is not required to hold DOGE tokens directly. In contrast, both Bitwise and Grayscale’s offerings are structured to hold the underlying asset.

GDOG recorded $1.4 million in trading volume on its first day. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted the results were not unexpected, referencing a previous observation: “The further away you get from BTC, the less asset there will be.”

Dogecoin, initially created as a lighthearted meme of a Shiba Inu dog, has grown to become the 10th-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization over its 12-year history. Its journey has included sharp price swings driven by online communities and mentions from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Dogecoin Attempts Breakout Toward $0.181

At the time of publication on Wednesday, DOGE is up around 2% in the past 24 hours. The memecoin has been recovering since finding support near $0.142 over the weekend. Analysts note that Dogecoin is currently testing a key descending trendline resistance, and a successful breakout could open the path toward $0.181.