Bitwise Asset Management’s decision to close its spot Dogecoin ETF less than a year after launch has exposed a sharp divide between cryptocurrency interest on retail trading apps and demand for crypto assets inside the traditional ETF market, according to Chief Executive Officer Hunter Horsley.
Speaking at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia, Horsley said the fund’s outcome suggested that attention around a token does not automatically translate into sustained demand for an exchange-traded product. The Bitwise Dogecoin ETF, trading under the ticker BWOW, launched on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2025 and is scheduled to cease trading after Oct. 14.
Data from blockchain and fund-data platform SoSoValue showed BWOW held about $725,870 in assets under management as of Oct. 7. The fund recorded $51,480 in trading volume during September, a small figure for a listed ETF and an indication that the product did not establish a deep secondary market.
The closure puts Dogecoin alongside a growing set of crypto assets whose cultural visibility has been difficult to convert into demand from brokerage accounts, registered advisers and other users of ETF products. Dogecoin remains among the best-known digital assets, but its market profile has historically been tied more closely to online trading communities and social-media-driven activity than to the portfolio use cases that have supported larger crypto funds.
Solana fund offers a contrasting result
Horsley contrasted BWOW’s trajectory with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, or BSOL, which had accumulated $1.3 billion in net assets, according to figures cited during the interview. Unlike a conventional spot fund that simply holds an underlying token, BSOL incorporates staking.
Staking allows holders of certain proof-of-stake tokens to participate in supporting the network and receive protocol rewards in return. In an ETF structure, that feature gives fund holders exposure to Solana while potentially adding staking rewards to the fund’s return profile, subject to fees, validator performance and the operational rules governing the product.
The difference between BWOW and BSOL does not establish a universal hierarchy among crypto assets. Fund demand can be shaped by market timing, distribution, fees, liquidity, regulatory conditions and the profile of the token itself. Yet the contrast supports Horsley’s point that an ETF wrapper appears to attract more durable interest when it packages a function beyond basic price exposure.
That places staking-based products in a potentially stronger position with users who already understand crypto but prefer securities accounts, tax reporting and conventional brokerage access over direct token custody. The model also creates practical questions for fund managers around how staking rewards are handled, how validators are selected and how operational risks are disclosed.
Bitwise adds near exposure
Bitwise expanded its single-token ETF line in late September with the launch of the Bitwise NEAR ETF, trading as NRR. The firm described NRR as the first spot ETF tracking NEAR Protocol’s native token.
The launch gives the company exposure to a different part of the digital-asset market than either Dogecoin or Solana. NEAR Protocol has focused on technology intended to make applications and transactions across blockchain networks easier to use.
One feature associated with the ecosystem, NEAR Intents, is designed to allow a user or an artificial-intelligence agent to swap or send assets across chains without requiring the user to manually route tokens through a bridge. Cross-chain bridges have often added complexity and security risk for users moving assets between networks, so systems that abstract those steps may appeal to developers and users seeking simpler transaction flows.
Whether that utility produces ETF demand remains untested. NRR has only recently entered the market, and its performance will depend on whether interest in NEAR’s technology translates into purchases through traditional brokerage channels—the same conversion challenge identified by Horsley in discussing BWOW.
AI filings extend Bitwise’s thematic strategy
Public filings also show Bitwise has submitted applications for two AI-related ETFs in recent months. The Bitwise AI Cyber Defense ETF was filed in August, followed by a September filing for the Bitwise AI Bond ETF.
The filings indicate that the firm is pursuing thematic equity and fixed-income products alongside its cryptocurrency offerings. They do not, by themselves, establish a launch date or guarantee that either product will reach the market. Regulatory review and the final terms of any fund would determine how the proposed ETFs are structured and what holdings they could include.
The approach reflects a broader product strategy in which Bitwise is seeking to serve several types of market demand: direct crypto exposure, staking-linked returns, blockchain infrastructure themes and technology sectors connected to artificial intelligence. The Dogecoin fund’s closure suggests that this strategy may require more than simply matching a token’s online popularity with an ETF listing.
Index funds remain part of the long-term plan
Asked about Bitwise’s outlook over the next five years, Horsley pointed to two index products: the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF, ticker BITW, and the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF, ticker BITQ.
BITW provides index-based exposure to a group of major crypto assets, while BITQ targets companies involved in the crypto industry. Both products offer a broader approach than a single-token fund, reducing the dependence on one network’s market cycle or one asset’s appeal.
BWOW’s short life is likely to be read as a test of where the limits of crypto ETF product expansion currently lie. Bitcoin and diversified crypto products have demonstrated that the ETF format can attract substantial assets under the right conditions. Bitwise’s experience with Dogecoin indicates that the route from token recognition to lasting ETF demand remains uneven, particularly for assets whose strongest following may reside outside traditional brokerage accounts.
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