Key Takeaways
- • Bitwise is liquidating its spot Dogecoin ETF (BWOW), which listed on the NYSE in November 2025, with trading scheduled to end after October 14, 2026, less than a year after launch.
- • According to SoSoValue data cited in the coverage, the fund held roughly $725,900 in assets as of October 7, 2026, and traded just $51,500 in September.
- • Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley called the Dogecoin ETF's failure "tragic," arguing it exposes a gap between spot ETF investors and users of crypto brokerage apps.
- • Horsley said ETF buyers do not currently want exposure to Dogecoin, though he expects that may change, and rejected the view that Bitwise marketed the product to the wrong audience.
- • Horsley contrasted the Dogecoin fund with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which holds $1.3 billion in net assets and which he attributed to its staking feature and to investor conviction in Solana.
Summary
Bitwise Asset Management is shutting down its spot Dogecoin ETF, ticker BWOW, after less than a year of trading. The fund was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2025, and trading is set to halt after October 14, 2026. Bitwise has said the decision reflects an effort to optimize its product range to meet evolving investor needs. Coverage citing low liquidity and weak demand points to the fund's limited scale: SoSoValue data show approximately $725,900 in assets as of October 7, 2026, with September trading volume of $51,500.
In an interview with The Block at the Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley described the outcome as "tragic." He framed the result as evidence of a "difference" between the investors served by spot ETFs and the users served by crypto brokerage applications. Horsley said he personally likes and holds Dogecoin, which he characterized as historically a useless token that nonetheless represents something and is a reasonable asset. He acknowledged, however, that the product has made no progress as an ETF. He argued that ETF investors do not currently want to put money into Dogecoin, though he said this could change over time. He also rejected the suggestion that Bitwise targeted the wrong audience, describing crypto ETFs as a distribution channel rather than a product aimed at a specific retail base.
Horsley contrasted the Dogecoin outcome with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which he said has succeeded in part because of its staking feature. He noted, however, that the fund's $1.3 billion in net assets ultimately reflects a bet on Solana itself. The interview also touched on AI, which Horsley identified as a current strategic focus for Bitwise, arguing that crypto and AI share a common origin: crypto rebuilds financial services as software, while AI enables machines to perform tasks previously done by people.
In an interview with The Block at the Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley described the outcome as "tragic." He framed the result as evidence of a "difference" between the investors served by spot ETFs and the users served by crypto brokerage applications. Horsley said he personally likes and holds Dogecoin, which he characterized as historically a useless token that nonetheless represents something and is a reasonable asset. He acknowledged, however, that the product has made no progress as an ETF. He argued that ETF investors do not currently want to put money into Dogecoin, though he said this could change over time. He also rejected the suggestion that Bitwise targeted the wrong audience, describing crypto ETFs as a distribution channel rather than a product aimed at a specific retail base.
Horsley contrasted the Dogecoin outcome with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which he said has succeeded in part because of its staking feature. He noted, however, that the fund's $1.3 billion in net assets ultimately reflects a bet on Solana itself. The interview also touched on AI, which Horsley identified as a current strategic focus for Bitwise, arguing that crypto and AI share a common origin: crypto rebuilds financial services as software, while AI enables machines to perform tasks previously done by people.
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