BitKoala reported on September 19th that in September 2025, a slightly tongue-in-cheek code flashed across the screens of the New York Stock Exchange: DOJE. This cryptocurrency, featuring a Shiba Inu head, was just a programmer's joke eight years ago. Today, it's on Wall Street as an exchange-traded fund (ETF), managing hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. When the seemingly contradictory concept of a "Dogecoin ETF" became a reality, the battle between internet memes and traditional finance officially began. This domestication, in essence, represents both a compromise between grassroots culture and the power of capital and the financial system's incorporation and transformation of emerging assets. 1. Regulatory Arbitrage: Memecoin's Regulatory Packaging DOJE's listing was no accident; it was a carefully crafted experiment in regulatory arbitrage. Unlike the Bitcoin ETF, which endured years of approval battles, the Dogecoin ETF utilizes the Investment Company Act of 1940. By establishing a Cayman Islands subsidiary to hold 25% of Dogecoin and derivatives, with the remainder allocated in compliant instruments such as U.S. Treasuries, it cleverly circumvents the SEC's rigorous scrutiny of spot crypto ETFs. This indirect approach enabled it to successfully pass the 75-day review period, becoming the first US ETF to list "no-use asset." This structural innovation reflects a fundamental shift in regulatory direction. Under the leadership of Paul Atkins, Trump's nominee for SEC Chairman, regulators have shifted their stance toward crypto assets from "containment" to "enlistment." Compared to the hardline stance taken under former Chairman Gary Gensler, the new management has streamlined listing standards, opening the floodgates for crypto ETFs. As of September 2025, nearly 100 crypto ETF applications were awaiting approval, and DOJE's successful listing undoubtedly provides a replicable template for similar products. The essence of this policy shift is to bring wild crypto assets into the traditional financial regulatory framework, trading the "shackles" of compliance for market access. This financialized packaging is also reflected in the cost structure. DOJE's 1.5% management fee far exceeds the average Bitcoin ETF rate of 0.25%-0.5%. This premium is essentially an "entry fee" for meme assets to obtain regulatory status. Even more intriguing is its tracking mechanism—holding assets through subsidiaries and derivatives, while circumventing regulatory hurdles, can lead to significant deviations between the ETF price and the Dogecoin spot price. Data shows that the similarly structured Solana Collateralized ETF (SSK) has experienced tracking errors exceeding 3%, suggesting that investors may be betting on the "shadow of Dogecoin" rather than the asset itself. The Second and Triple Paradox: Cultural Rifts in the Domestication Process The birth of the Dogecoin ETF exposes profound contradictions in the financialization of meme-based assets. The first paradox lies at the level of market function: ETFs are supposed to lower investment barriers, but they may actually amplify Dogecoin's speculative nature. Data from Bitcoin ETFs shows that the continued inflow of institutional funds has indeed reduced asset volatility (30-day volatility has dropped from 65% to 50%). However, Dogecoin lacks Bitcoin's decentralized financial infrastructure, and its price is more dependent on community sentiment and celebrity influence. Morningstar analyst Bryan Armour pointedly pointed out: "This normalizes collectibles. Dogecoin is like Beanie Babies or baseball cards. ETFs are supposed to serve the capital market, not collectibles." The cultural paradox is even more glaring. Dogecoin originated as an internet joke in 2013. Its core community culture is a playful, anti-financial elitist spirit, with tipping and charitable donations forming a unique identity. However, the introduction of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) completely reshaped this ecosystem. When institutions like Grayscale and Fidelity became major holders, the community logic of "holding equals faith" was forced to give way to the financial logic of "net value fluctuation equals return." The DOJE allows investors to hold Dogecoin through IRAs, transforming it from a "game currency" for netizens into a "retirement asset." This cultural shift sparked a heated debate on Reddit, questioning whether we've sold our souls. The paradox of regulatory philosophy hides risks. The SEC approved the DOJE on the grounds of "investor protection," but the product design may mask risks. Unlike directly holding cryptocurrencies, ETF shares cannot be used for on-chain activities. Investors cannot participate in Dogecoin's tipping culture, nor can they perceive the true value flow of the blockchain network. A more insidious risk lies in the tax structure—cross-border transaction costs and derivatives rollover fees incurred by Cayman Islands subsidiaries can erode actual returns by 10%-15% during a bull market. This "hidden loss" is precisely masked by the cloak of compliance.
Third, Power Shift: The Game Between Wall Street and the Crypto Community
Behind the Dogecoin ETF lies a quiet transfer of power. The motivations of Wall Street institutions are clear: by the end of 2024, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs had attracted $175 billion in funds, leaving giants like BlackRock desperate for new growth drivers. While Dogecoin lacks practical value, its $3.8 billion market capitalization and large retail investor base create significant market demand. Before launching DOJE, the REX-Osprey team had already validated its "non-mainstream crypto assets + compliant structure" business model through the Solana Collateralized ETF (SSK). This product matrix strategy essentially uses financial instruments to reap the traffic dividends of the meme economy. The SEC's policy shift bears distinct political and economic characteristics. The Trump administration's friendly attitude toward cryptocurrencies contrasts with the Biden administration's cautious stance. This oscillation reflects the struggle between traditional financial capital and emerging tech companies. DOJE's listing coincided with the eve of the 2025 US presidential election. Trump was even rumored to be planning a personal memecoin ETF ($TRUMP), making crypto regulation a political bargaining chip. As regulators shift from "risk mitigators" to "market drivers," the Dogecoin ETF became an ideal tool for testing voter sentiment and capital market reactions. The crypto community's resistance was fragmented. Early core developer Billy Markus quipped on Twitter, "We created an anti-establishment joke, and now the system is packaging it as a financial product." This sentiment was quickly drowned out by market frenzy. Data shows that Dogecoin's price rose 13%-17% in the week before DOJE's listing. This "ETF anticipation arbitrage" attracted a large number of short-term speculators, further diluting the community's cultural identity. Even more symbolic, the ETF issuer changed the Shiba Inu logo from a cartoon-style design to a "financial blue" color scheme. This taming of visual symbols serves as a microcosm of the power shift. Conclusion: The Dusk of Memes or the Dawn of Finance? The story of the Dogecoin ETF is, at its core, a classic example of how internet subcultures encounter the financial system. As the community slogan "To the Moon" becomes "price exposure" in SEC filings, and as Musk's tweets influence the risk disclosures of ETF inclusion, the decentralized core of meme assets is being reshaped by the process of compliance and institutionalization. This domestication may bring short-term prosperity—analysts predict that the DOJE could attract $1-2 billion in funding. But in the long run, can Dogecoin, having lost its playful spirit and community autonomy, still be called a "meme coin"? More worthy of reflection is the fact that this domestication model is becoming a template. Following Dogecoin, the XRP ETF has been launched, and a Trumpcoin ETF is also under application. This signifies the wholesale transformation of the meme economy into financial products. Using ETFs as a "scalpel," Wall Street is reorganizing the wild genes of internet culture, ultimately producing "financial genetically modified products" that conform to the logic of capital. When memes cease to be spontaneous cultural expressions and become quantifiable and tradable financial assets, we may lose not only a form of entertainment but also the internet's last remaining decentralized spiritual preserve. In this game of domestication and resistance, there are no clear winners. The moment Dogecoin was cloaked in ETF guise marked both the mainstreaming of internet memes and the end of their innocence. While the financial market is reaping new growth opportunities, it is also forced to endure the bitter consequences of speculative culture. Perhaps, as cryptocurrency analyst Peter Brandt put it, "When Wall Street learns to speak the language of memes, all that remains is business."
Catherine
Brian
Alex
Anais
Miyuki
Weiliang