Nasdaq Seeks SEC Approval for 21Shares Spot Dogecoin ETF

Nasdaq has submitted a 19b-4 form to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to support the listing of a new 21Shares Spot Dogecoin (DOGE) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). This move is seen as a significant step towards the mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies, particularly Dogecoin, which was initially created as a joke in 2013 but has since grown into a substantial digital asset.

The proposed ETF aims to provide investors with passive exposure to Dogecoin's price movements without engaging in speculative trading activities such as leverage, derivatives, or other financial instruments. This approach allows investors to gain indirect access to the Dogecoin market through traditional brokerage accounts, bypassing the potential barriers and risks associated with directly holding or transferring Dogecoin.

Coinbase will act as the custodian for the 21Shares DOGE ETF assets, while the CF DOGE-Dollar US Settlement Price Index will serve as the pricing benchmark. Nasdaq has emphasized its capability to monitor trading activity and prevent manipulation, highlighting its membership in the Intermarket Surveillance Group (ISG). This membership provides real-time information sharing with other regulated markets, including Coinbase Derivatives, and includes surveillance for real-time price and volume movements, as well as post-trade activities like spoofing and marking the close.

This ETF proposal is not an isolated effort. Other firms, including Grayscale and Bitwise, have also filed applications for similar spot Dogecoin ETFs. This collective push indicates a growing industry confidence that the SEC may soon expand the range of crypto investment options beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Despite this optimism, crypto bettors on the decentralized prediction platform Polymarket believe there is only a 59% chance that the SEC will approve a Dogecoin ETF before the end of the year.

Dogecoin, currently the eighth-largest digital asset with a market cap of around $26.5 billion, has evolved from its humorous origins to become a serious digital asset. The filing of the 21Shares DOGE ETF by Nasdaq underscores the increasing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the mainstream financial market, signaling a potential shift in how digital assets are perceived and integrated into traditional investment portfolios.