📰 Another ETF Fiasco? Why Bitwise’s CEO Says the DOGE Lesson Made Crypto Users “Invisible”

Bitwise’s CEO recently touted the launch of their NEAR coin ETF and gushed about AI, saying they planned to focus heavily on it. But behind all that shine, he also took a jab at the DOGE coin ETF, saying it “died miserably” because ETF buyers simply don’t care about how people use crypto day to day—the two groups just don’t see eye to eye. It sounds like he’s accusing rich kids who buy antiques of not appreciating the art, but what he’s really saying is this: for crypto to get on the right track, it needs to sort out its user base.

Why does this news matter?
This didn’t happen in isolation. Bitcoin and Ethereum are climbing every day, but who’s paying attention to crypto’s everyday applications? It’s like how, in the early days of smartphones, no one cared how the OS was designed, but now it’s become a key competitive advantage. As a long-established crypto firm, Bitwise is holding DOGE up as a cautionary tale and sending a message to the whole industry: bringing in big money through ETFs isn’t enough. If the people using crypto don’t care, all that money will go to waste. The root cause is that regulators treat the market as purely financial, overlooking crypto’s nature as underlying technology. Just imagine: if regulators understood the technology, they might not have been so hard on DOGE.

Impact on the market
The short-term impact on BTC and ETH is definitely bearish sentiment. Bitcoin is at $82,794 and Ethereum at $2,492.44, and they’re doing pretty well. But if crypto is treated purely as a speculative alternative asset, it won’t get far in the long run. Bitwise’s point is that if ETF investors aren’t even interested in DOGE, they probably won’t care about other coins either. The chain of events is clear: institutional money flows in → focus only on price movements → overlook innovation in use cases → crypto becomes a financial instrument → users leave. Any similar cases in history? So many coins were around in 2017—how many are still active today? DOGE is a classic example.

Trading strategy
💡 In the short term, this news is bearish for sentiment toward crypto assets. But if it really pushes regulators to treat crypto as a technology asset, that would be a major positive for BTC and ETH. I’m watching levels below $80K. If Bitcoin falls into that range, it could actually be an opportunity—because regulatory inaction is precisely a sign that the market hasn’t been overheated by speculation.

If the U.S. Senate goes back on its word again and suddenly changes course to impose strict regulations on DOGE, this thesis is invalid.

This article was not sponsored by any project, and the author does not hold any of the assets mentioned above.

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⚠️ This is not investment advice. Predictions are for reference only.

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