Grayscale files to convert its DOGE Trust into an ETF less than a day after launch

Less than 24 hours after first rolling out its Dogecoin Trust, Grayscale shot their shot with the SEC to convert it into an ETF. As Cryptopolitan reported, the company had said at first that they were gonna wait until SEC chair nominee Paul Atkins gets confirmed by the Senate next week.

But it seems like they decided not to wait even a day longer after all. ETF analyst Eric Balchunas summed it up perfectly: No trust has ever pulled a “launch-today, file-tomorrow” kind of move before. What’s wild is that there are now four DOGE ETF filings floating around, including leveraged bets.

Gary Gensler’s exit from the SEC isn’t even old news yet, and suddenly the ETF industry is looking like a free-for-all. “Man, the jockeying is intense. I’ve never heard of a trust launching and then looking to convert to ETF the same day. But hey they may now be in pole position in the 19b-4 race. Also we now have up to four Doge etf filings (including 2x). Genz has only been gone for like two weeks lol,” said Eric.

UPDATE: That was FAST. @Grayscale launched a DOGE trust earlier today and they just filed a 19b-4 to convert it into an ETF pic.twitter.com/IU64NeiPsY

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 31, 2025

What was once just a joke —literally born as a meme—is now getting polished up and taken seriously as an asset. DOGE, derived from Litecoin and indirectly connected to Bitcoin, exploded into mainstream awareness over the years, mostly thanks to Elon Musk.

According to Grayscale’s Head of Product & Research, DOGE has become an accessible way for people around the world to make fast, low-cost transactions. And they’re not wrong about the adoption part—Dogecoin’s low transaction fees and rapid speed have made it attractive in emerging markets.

Unlike Bitcoin, where fees and confirmation times can leave you waiting and sweating, DOGE breezes through transactions at breakneck speed without gouging users.

What’s happening with DOGE isn’t Grayscale’s only power move this month. The company just filed to convert its XRP Trust into an ETF on January 30. They’ve submitted their proposal to the New York Stock Exchange and picked Coinbase Custody as the official custodian for the trust.

Grayscale manages over $16 million in XRP through its current trust, and converting that into an ETF would open the floodgates for institutional investors. Think mutual funds, pension funds, and other big players who’ve been hesitant to touch crypto directly because of regulatory uncertainty caused by Gary.

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