Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, has called the closure of the firm's spot $DOGE Dogecoin ETF (BWOW) "tragic," saying the fund's short life exposed a clear gap between traditional ETF investors and users of crypto brokerage apps.

Horsley made the remarks during an interview with The Block at Digital Asset Summit 2026 Asia, framing the outcome as a lesson in audience mismatch rather than a failure of the asset class itself.

A Short Life on the NYSE

Dogecoin's ETF wrapper never found its footing with institutional buyers. BWOW launched on the NYSE in November 2025 and is closing less than a year after listing, with trading set to end after October 14. The fund held approximately $725,870 in assets as of October 7, with September trading volume of just $51,480. BWOW recorded cumulative net outflows of $1.38 million through September 25.

Bitwise formally announced its decision to liquidate and close BWOW on September 10, 2026, citing a need to "optimize its product range to meet evolving investor needs." Remaining shareholders will receive the net asset value of their shares as of October 21, distributed in cash on October 22.

Investors vs. Users: A Persistent Divide

Horsley described the outcome as "tragic" and said the failure highlights a gap between ETF buyers and crypto brokerage app users. Despite his personal conviction on the token, he acknowledged the disconnect, saying he likes and owns Dogecoin, describing it as historically useless but authentic and standing for something, yet conceding that ETF investors simply did not want to allocate to it, though that may change over time.

Horsley said the result shows that an asset's popularity in crypto does not necessarily translate into demand for an ETF. He rejected the idea that Bitwise had targeted the wrong audience, describing crypto ETFs as a means of connecting investors to crypto assets.

The contrast with Bitwise's other products is stark. Horsley pointed to the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which held approximately $1.3 billion in assets, saying staking helped the product while investors were primarily drawn to Solana's role in stablecoins, tokenized assets, and onchain services.

While there appeared to be significant hype behind the launch of spot Dogecoin funds, the ETFs broadly failed to take off with investors. The Dogecoin funds accumulated approximately $300 million in trading volumes, dwarfed by altcoin ETF peers such as Hyperliquid ($2.1 billion), Zcash ($1.5 billion), and Chainlink ($680 million).

Sources
SEC Filing: Bitwise Dogecoin ETF Liquidation Press Release (Form 8-K)
Crowdfund Insider: Bitwise Asset Management Winds Down BWOW Dogecoin ETF
PR Newswire: Bitwise Announces Liquidation of Bitwise Dogecoin ETF (NYSE: BWOW)