Bitwise to Close Dogecoin ETF After BWOW Fails to Scale
Bitwise will close BWOW after the Dogecoin ETF failed to attract sustained demand, despite charging less than the competing funds tracked by SoSoValue within its first year.
Key Takeaways
- Final trading is expected October 14.
- Cumulative outflows reached about $1.23 million.
- Fund assets remained below $700,000.
- BWOW charged the group’s lowest fee.
- Remaining shareholders will receive cash automatically.
BWOW will continue trading through October 14
Bitwise Investment Advisers announced on September 10 that it will close and liquidate the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF, which trades on NYSE Arca under the ticker BWOW.
According to the official liquidation announcement, the fund’s last trading day is expected to be October 14. Trading will stop before the market opens on October 15, when the creation of new shares will also end.
Bitwise said it was closing BWOW as it sought to “optimize its product range to meet evolving investor needs.” The company did not identify weak demand, operating costs or fund performance as the specific reason. The fund’s assets and trading history nevertheless show that it struggled to build scale.
BWOW launched in late November 2025. Its expected final session will arrive less than eleven months later.
BWOW held 6% of assets on the three-fund dashboard
By September 10, BWOW had approximately $687,730 in net assets and cumulative net flows of negative $1.23 million, according to SoSoValue.
The comparison below covers only GDOG, TDOG and BWOW, the three products included on SoSoValue’s US Dogecoin ETF dashboard. It does not represent every US-listed product offering DOGE exposure, including REX-Osprey’s DOJE.
The three funds held approximately $11.83 million combined. BWOW represented about 6% of that amount, compared with roughly 73% for GDOG.
Only $5,920 worth of BWOW shares changed hands on September 10, equal to 429 shares and less than 1% of the fund’s net assets. Low activity can leave investors with fewer counterparties and make execution near net asset value less reliable.
BWOW’s lower fee was not enough to build scale
BWOW charged an annual sponsor fee of 0.34%, compared with 0.35% for GDOG and 0.50% for TDOG. It nevertheless had the lowest assets and daily turnover among the three products.
The difference between BWOW and GDOG amounted to one basis point, equal to $1 per year on a $10,000 investment. That saving offered little compensation for BWOW’s much smaller asset base and thinner trading activity.
Investors may place greater weight on fund size and turnover when the fee difference is so small. Those factors can affect how easily shares are bought or sold, while the annual cost advantage accumulates slowly.
Our August analysis also found that regulated Dogecoin products remained small relative to DOGE’s wider market value. BWOW’s closure provides a concrete example of the pressure that limited demand can place on one of those products.
BWOW had already lost 59% of its assets
BWOW’s net assets fell approximately 59% during the first half of 2026, from $1.15 million at the end of December to $473,547 on June 30, according to the fund’s second-quarter filing with the SEC.
Dogecoin’s reported reference price declined from approximately $0.1165 to $0.0722 during the period. Investors also redeemed 20,000 shares worth $406,971, reducing the outstanding total from 60,000 to 40,000. No new shares were created during those six months.
BWOW therefore lost assets through both DOGE’s price decline and shareholder redemptions. Its assets later recovered to approximately $687,730 by September 10, but cumulative net flows remained negative.
What happens to investors who still hold BWOW?
Once Bitwise begins liquidating BWOW’s portfolio, the fund will no longer be managed according to its normal investment objective. Its performance may therefore separate from Dogecoin’s price while the holdings are sold and prepared for cash distribution.
Shareholders can sell before trading ends or wait for automatic redemption:
- Sell by October 14: Investors can dispose of their shares through the secondary market. The execution price may differ from the fund’s net asset value.
- Remain through liquidation: No action is required. Bitwise expects to calculate the value of the remaining shares on October 21 and distribute the proceeds in cash on October 22.
Investors who remain will receive cash in their brokerage accounts, not Dogecoin.
The fund’s Form 8-K warns that the cash distribution may create a taxable event. The consequences depend on the investor’s individual circumstances, account type and tax jurisdiction.
What BWOW’s closure means for Dogecoin funds
Closing BWOW will not affect the Dogecoin network or eliminate regulated DOGE exposure from US brokerage accounts. Other listed products remain available.
The liquidation shows that regulatory approval does not ensure sufficient demand for every single-asset crypto fund. For investors comparing smaller products, fund size, daily turnover, potential trading spreads and redemption procedures may matter more than a one-basis-point fee difference.
BWOW’s experience leaves a narrower conclusion than Bitwise’s announcement alone provides: the lowest fee offered little advantage when the fund could not attract substantial assets or consistent trading.
This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment or tax advice.
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
