21Shares seeks SEC approval for spot Dogecoin ETF

21Shares has submitted a proposal to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot exchange-traded fund tied to Dogecoin.

On April 9, the company filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the SEC, outlining plans for the 21Shares Dogecoin ETF.  The fund will track the price of Dogecoin (DOGE) using the CF DOGE-Dollar US Settlement Price Index as its benchmark, with Coinbase Custody named as the proposed custodian.

The ETF is designed as a passive investment vehicle, meaning it won’t use leverage or derivatives. Instead, it will hold actual Dogecoin and calculate its daily net asset value (NAV) based on the benchmark index.

The Trust won’t actively trade DOGE, except during share creations and redemptions or to cover certain fees. 

Further, to strengthen outreach and community engagement, 21Shares has brought on House of Doge, the corporate arm of the Dogecoin Foundation, to support the marketing, branding, and strategic positioning of the ETF within the broader Dogecoin ecosystem.

This SEC move cements what’s quickly becoming a multi-front Dogecoin strategy between 21Shares and House of Doge. Just a day earlier, the asset manager announced the world’s first Dogecoin ETP on Switzerland’s SIX Swiss Exchange under the ticker “DOGE.”

21Shares president Duncan Moir said the ETP would give investors a regulated instrument to engage with what he called a “cultural and financial movement.”

Over the past months, the SEC has received applications for a DOGE ETF from three other issuers, namely Grayscale, Bitwise, and Rex Shares.

Grayscale’s Form 19b-4 filing was acknowledged by the Commission on Feb. 13, triggering a 240-day review period to evaluate the proposed rule change for listing the ETF. Meanwhile, Bitwise filed its own 19b-4 proposal via NYSE Arca on March 3.

According to betting platform Polymarket, there is currently a 64% chance that a spot Dogecoin ETF will be approved this year.