The first US-listed Dogecoin ETF could be just days away, with REX Shares using the same “regulatory end-around” playbook it relied on to get its Solana staking ETF approved earlier this year.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said Thursday that REX had filed an effective prospectus under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”), paving the way for a potential launch next week. “Looks like Rex is going to launch a Doge ETF via the 40 Act a la $SSK,” Balchunas wrote on X, pointing to the fresh filing.
Most crypto ETFs must go through the traditional S-1 and 19b-4 process with the SEC, a pathway that has left rival Dogecoin ETF applications from 21Shares, Bitwise, and Grayscale still waiting. By contrast, the 40 Act structure allows REX to move more quickly — a strategy ETF Store president Nate Geraci has described as “a regulatory end-around.”
In its prospectus, REX cautioned that Dogecoin remains highly volatile: “DOGE is a relatively new innovation and is subject to unique and substantial risks. The market for DOGE is subject to rapid price swings, changes and uncertainty.”
Dogecoin has gained more than 116% over the past year, CoinMarketCap data shows, though it remains down 54% from its December 2024 high of $0.4672. At publication time, DOGE was trading at $0.2129.
REX has also filed for another 40 Act fund tied to the Trump family’s OFFICIAL TRUMP token, which would gain exposure by purchasing shares in an offshore company that holds the asset.
Dogecoin’s mainstream profile — boosted by billionaire Elon Musk, who has called himself the “Dogefather” and once labeled the token “a hustle” on Saturday Night Live — continues to make it one of the most recognizable cryptocurrencies outside the industry. Just last month, Fortune reported that Musk’s longtime attorney Alex Spiro had taken the chairmanship of a new public company planning to raise $200 million for Dogecoin investments.
