Bitwise shuts down Dogecoin ETF less than a year after launch

Crypto asset manager Bitwise announced Thursday that the firm will liquidate and close its spot Dogecoin (DOGE) exchange-traded fund, about 10 months after the fund went live.

The last day of trading on the NYSE for the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF (BWOW) is expected to be Oct. 14. Shareholders may sell their shares in the secondary market until the close of trading on this date.

On Oct. 22, remaining shareholders will receive the net asset value of their shares as of Oct. 21, distributed in cash. Shareholders do not need to take any action during this process.

"Bitwise has determined to liquidate the Fund as it continues to optimize its product range to meet evolving investor needs," the firm said in a release.

The first Dogecoin ETF hit the market in September 2025. While there appeared to be a lot of hype behind the launch of spot Dogecoin funds, the ETFs have failed to take off with investors. The funds recorded about $318,000 in net inflows last month, according to SoSoValue, which actually reversed small outflows from July.

The Dogecoin funds have accumulated approximately $300 million in trading volumes, which, among altcoin crypto ETFs, has been dwarfed by its Hyperliquid ($2.1 billion), Zcash ($1.5 billion), and Chainlink ($680 million) counterparts.

For its part, BWOW topped out at around $3 million in daily trading volume the week of its launch.

"DOGE began as a joke and came to become an icon of the crypto movement. It doesn't purport to transform global capital markets or convince you it has fundamentals or utility," Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said last year. "And, against the odds, it has kept its relevance—and its value — longer than just about anything else in crypto."

Dogecoin's price trades around $0.084 at publication time, giving the coin a $13 billion market cap. It has been knocked out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies over the past year amid the rise of HYPE and ZEC.