EXCLUSIVE: Dogecoin ETF Justified, More Meme Coins ETFs Possible, Bitwise CIO Says

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matthew Hougan on Monday said while meme coin ETFs are not entirely off the table, they are not a “free-for-all,” highlighting the need for a liquid, globally distributed market with limited insider influence.

What Happened: Speaking with Benzinga at The Digital Assets Forum in London, Hougan discussed the possibility of these ETFs in the future, while also emphasizing that it wouldn’t be for all assets and that they would have to be among the top and most liquid.

Hougan cited Dogecoin DOGE/USD as an example of a meme coin that is long-lasting, given its 12-year history, fair launch and active community.

“So is it an asset that most institutional or professional investors should allocate to? No, definitely not. It has no ‘fundamental value’ beyond its memetic,” while also noting “Is it an important monetary asset like Bitcoin BTC/USD? No.”

However, he clarified, “Is it an ephemeral pump and dump scheme? No.”

Hougan emphasized that the core argument for offering a Dogecoin ETF is to provide a secure and cost-effective way for the existing community to invest in the token, rather than through potentially risky centralized exchanges.

However, when asked if the approval of a Dogecoin ETF would pave the way for other meme coin ETFs such as Shiba Inu SHIB/USD, Bonk BONK/USD or Brett BRETT/USD, Hougan cautioned against a binary perspective, stating that it's not "nothing or everything."

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Why It Matters: Hougan indicated that his company would not be creating ETF’s for all crypto assets, saying “We don’t want ETFs on assets that are illiquid, manipulated or significant insider ownership. Like those shouldn’t exist and they don’t.”

He explained the need for a globally distributed, highly liquid market with minimal insider influence, saying, “So what crypto assets have a broadly distributed, extremely liquid global market where it’s hard for insiders to manipulate them?”

He noted that he has not done the work on assets like Bonk or other meme coins, which would indicate a hesitance to create these ETFs.

He also expressed a belief that, while he expects ETFs for the largest, high-quality crypto assets among the top 10-20, most meme coins will likely not qualify for an ETF, due to the fact that these smaller market cap coins would be too expensive to run the ETFs on.

Hougan noted “by the time you get to asset like 25 is a tiny fraction of asset number one.”

He further predicted significant inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, anticipating north of $50 billion in 2025.

He explained his rationale by stating that the current investors will “double down” on their holdings, while there will also be new money coming from institutional players.

He emphasized that while macro conditions create short-term volatility, the long term drivers for Bitcoin are specific to crypto.

"Bitcoin is going to top $200,000 this year," due to the fact that new demand is higher than the new supply, from both ETF's and corporate players. I see today as a buying opportunity,” he said.

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