{"id":33200,"date":"2026-10-08T18:38:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/investx.fr\/en\/2026\/10\/08\/dogecoin-etf-bitwise-ceo-tragic-failure\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T18:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:38:09","slug":"dogecoin-etf-bitwise-ceo-tragic-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investx.fr\/en\/crypto-news\/dogecoin-etf-bitwise-ceo-tragic-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Dogecoin ETF: Bitwise CEO Calls the Failure “Tragic” and Exposes a Troubling Divide in Crypto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Dogecoin ETF<\/strong> failed to convince the markets. Hunter Horsley<\/strong>, CEO of Bitwise<\/strong>, pulls no punches in describing this commercial flop and draws a structural lesson about the crypto industry from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind this failure lies a deep fracture between two types of investors: those who buy ETFs through traditional brokers<\/strong>, and those who use crypto apps<\/strong> on a daily basis. A distinction that changes everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bitwise<\/strong>, far from throwing in the towel, is already pivoting its strategy toward artificial intelligence<\/strong> \u2014 a strong signal about where the sector’s priorities are heading in the months to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Dogecoin ETF That Fell Flat: Horsley Calls It a “Tragic” Failure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hunter Horsley<\/strong> made no attempt to sugarcoat the reality. In recent statements, the Bitwise<\/strong> CEO described the failure of the Dogecoin ETF<\/strong> as “tragic,” acknowledging that the product never found its audience despite the historic enthusiasm surrounding the meme coin<\/strong>. For an asset that delivered triple-digit returns during previous bull cycles, the disappointment is all the more striking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is not with the quality of the product itself, but with a fundamental misalignment between supply and demand<\/strong>. Crypto ETFs<\/strong> primarily target institutional investors<\/strong> or retail investors operating through traditional brokerage accounts \u2014 Fidelity<\/strong>, Schwab<\/strong>, or financial advisors. Yet Dogecoin<\/strong><\/a> fans live on Robinhood<\/strong>, Coinbase<\/strong>, or decentralized wallets. These two worlds almost never intersect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This observation highlights a structural limitation of the crypto ETF<\/strong> market: the underlying asset must match the expectations and habits of the target client base<\/strong>. Bitcoin<\/strong> and Ethereum<\/strong> fit that logic. Dogecoin<\/strong>, driven by a retail community deeply embedded in mobile apps, simply does not match the typical profile of a traditional ETF buyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gap Between ETF Buyers and Crypto Users: A Divide the Industry Too Often Ignores<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Horsley<\/strong>‘s analysis puts its finger on a reality that many ETF<\/strong> issuers consistently underestimate. Crypto ETF buyers are predominantly conservative investors<\/strong> seeking regulated exposure to digital assets without having to manage private keys or wallets. Their risk profile is different, and so is their investment horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other side, users of crypto apps<\/strong> \u2014 those buying DOGE<\/strong> on Binance<\/strong> or Coinbase<\/strong> at 2 a.m. after an Elon Musk<\/strong> tweet \u2014 are chasing volatility, speed, and a strong sense of community<\/strong>. These two profiles coexist within the crypto ecosystem, but they do not consume the same financial products. Confusing the two means building a product for an audience that will never buy it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This divide raises a strategic question for the entire crypto ETF<\/strong> industry: which assets actually deserve an ETF wrapper?<\/strong> The answer appears to be forming around assets with strong institutional adoption \u2014 Bitcoin<\/strong> first, Ethereum<\/strong> second \u2014 rather than meme coins, however popular they may be in the retail space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bitwise Pivots to AI: The Next Frontier for Thematic ETFs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rather than dwelling on this setback, Bitwise<\/strong> is accelerating on a new front. The firm recently launched a NEAR spot ETF<\/strong><\/a> and has now positioned artificial intelligence<\/strong> as a core strategic priority. Horsley<\/strong> confirmed that Bitwise<\/strong> intends to scale up its initiatives in this space, capitalizing on the convergence between crypto and AI<\/strong> \u2014 a theme that has been gaining serious momentum since the explosion of autonomous on-chain agents<\/strong> and decentralized AI protocols<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This repositioning is consistent with broader market trends. AI thematic ETFs<\/strong> attracted massive inflows throughout 2024 and 2025 in traditional finance. Applying that same logic to crypto \u2014 by targeting assets such as NEAR<\/strong>, Bittensor<\/strong>, or Render<\/strong> \u2014 allows Bitwise<\/strong> to differentiate itself from BlackRock and Fidelity<\/strong>, which dominate the Bitcoin<\/strong> and Ethereum<\/strong> segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson from the Dogecoin ETF<\/strong> is therefore twofold: better match assets to the actual profile of ETF buyers, and get ahead of emerging themes<\/strong><\/a> rather than riding the nostalgia of past cycles. In a market as fast-moving as crypto, strategic agility is often worth far more than an asset’s name recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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