Dogecoin ETF Launch Underwhelms as Volume Misses Forecasts

Grayscale’s spot Dogecoin ETF (GDOG) debuted with $1.4 million in trading volume, much lower than analysts’ expectations.

At the same time, Dogecoin’s price experienced a slight dip. This reflects trader caution, even as new institutional products open doors to mainstream finance.

Grayscale’s Dogecoin ETF Debuts With Muted $1.4 Million Volume

The Grayscale Dogecoin Trust ETF started trading on NYSE Arca on Monday, marking a milestone for the tenth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. According to official Grayscale data, the fund manages approximately $1.7 million in assets and a net asset value of $17.98 per share as of the latest figures.

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Ahead of the launch, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas estimated that GDOG could attract as much as $12 million in opening-day volume. The final tally came in far lower.

“GDOG (first Doge ETF) saw $1.4m volume on Day One.. solid for an avg launch but low for a ‘first-ever spot’ product,” he stated.

Balchunas suggested that institutional appetite declines as ETFs move down the crypto hierarchy from Bitcoin to smaller altcoins. This trend is further evidenced by the record first-day volumes of recently launched XRP and Solana ETFs, which saw approximately $59 million and $56 million in trading volumes, respectively.

Even the Rex-Osprey Dogecoin ETF, which launched in September under the 1940 Act, recorded $17 million on its opening day. While this is a notable figure, it is still well below the demand seen for larger-cap crypto assets.

Meanwhile, competition in the Dogecoin ETF space is set to intensify. Bitwise said its own spot Dogecoin fund, BWOW, will begin trading on November 26. The firm attributed the launch to persistent community demand.

“Bitwise is launching BWOW because many DOGE holders, a community that numbers in the millions, want the benefit that comes from getting exposure to crypto in an ETP format, and we believe they should have it,” Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley noted.

The launch of these Dogecoin ETFs comes at a time of significant market stress. The cryptocurrency sector has been in a broad downturn since early October.

Despite a brief recovery, the market has experienced turbulence again today. This weakness has also weighed on Dogecoin.

According to BeInCrypto Markets data, the meme coin has fallen 0.219% over the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, it was trading at $0.15.

The introduction of Dogecoin ETFs marks a step in expanding institutional access beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Ongoing success will depend on sustained inflows, not just early trading volumes. For now, the market is adopting a wait-and-see stance, balancing curiosity about new products with caution caused by recent turmoil.