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January isn't even over yet but the crypto industry is already having a fantastic 2025. In large part thanks to President Donald Trump and at the expense of woke Democrats, a new chapter is being written in the sector, with even greater things expected on the horizon.
In what was seen as the crypto industry maturing away from its notorious reputation of scams and illicit activity, achieved through the likes of SBF, 2024 saw crypto evolve to a state that finally earned the respect of TradFi markets. Bitcoin ETFs were approved in January 2024, ushering in a wave of Wall Street money, which continued to flood the market throughout the year, ultimately pushing BTC beyond the $100,000 watermark.
Ethereum ETFs and Solana ETFs became the next logical products to blossom from TradFi's budding romance with crypto and although not widely approved yet, still retained the stripes of maturity that crypto had just began to wear comfortably.
One year later, crypto is still strengthening its venture into TradFi with a more compliant SEC, as promised by Trump, paving the way for even more synergy. However, just as a leopard can't change its spots, you can never truly take the degen out of the crypto industry.
Bitwise, whose Bitcoin ETF (BITB) was one of the first ten BTC ETFs to be approved by the SEC last year, has just filed for a Dogecoin ETF. The "Bitwise Dogecoin ETF" is the first filing by any financial institution to bring a DOGE-centric ETF to the US market.
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"This was from us," Bitwise Asset Management chief investment officer Matt Hougan confirmed to the Block.
Perhaps even more interestingly, the market seems to be somewhat unsurprised by the move. "I remain shocked that no issuer has filed for Dogecoin ETF," said ETF Store president Nate Gercai said earlier this month.
"7th largest digital asset by market cap. Worst case, it’s a marketing expense for the issuer. Best case, you get an extremely lenient SEC who approves it, along w/ Elon touting it."
I remain shocked that no issuer has filed for Dogecoin ETF…
— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) January 16, 2025
7th largest digital asset by market cap.
Worst case, it’s a marketing expense for the issuer.
Best case, you get an extremely lenient SEC who approves it, along w/ Elon touting it.
With a market cap of almost $52 billion, DOGE is certainly a force to be reckoned with but its degen reputation undoubtedly precedes it. Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) paying homage to Dogecoin may have inspired even more love for the memecoin, especially with Musk now solely at the wheel.
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The department's website even briefly displayed a Dogecoin token logo on Tuesday, causing DOGE's price to spike 11%.
But if this wasn't degen enough, Osprey Funds and Rex Shares have filed for seven separate ETFs with the SEC including a DOGE ETF, BONK ETF and a TRUMP memecoin ETF.
Listed above the proposed Ethereum ETF and Bitcoin ETF, the firms' proposed Trump ETF is linked to Trump's official memecoin, which launched just days ahead of the President's inauguration.
According to $TRUMP's website, the memecoin's supply is limited to 200 million, which accounts for just 20% of the 1 billion overall supply.
The remaining 80% will be released over the next three years and are owned by the Trump Organization affiliate CIC Digital LLC – which previously sold Trump-branded shoes and fragrances – and Fight Fight Fight LLC, a company formed in Delaware on Jan. 7.
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A disclaimer on the token's website states that $TRUMP is “not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type."
Even more interestingly, the word "token" or "coin" is nowhere to be found on the website. Instead, the assets are described as "Trump Memes."
"Trump Memes are intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol "$TRUMP," the site states.
Now the 25th largest coin by market cap, $TRUMP is trading at around $37 at the time of writing, which is about half of its all-time high, achieved just ahead of Trump's inauguration.
Meanwhile, BONK, which rose to fame last year after skyrocketing more than 300%, is sitting in 50th place by market cap. Created in late 2022, BONK has become a symbol of Solana’s resilience post-FTX collapse.
Its rise is being propelled by community-driven deflationary moves, including a planned burn of 1 trillion tokens by December, aimed at boosting scarcity and value.
However, as ridiculous as laughable may sound, their value can't be laughed off. The GMCI Meme tracker shows that a basket of 28 memecoins drastically outperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum last year.
Perhaps it's not that crypto is returning to its immature ways but that its immature ways are somehow maturing. Memecoin ETFs FTW...
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