Grayscale Investments launches investment fund focused on Dogecoin, cryptocurrency token originally created as a joke
Grayscale Investments said it is launching an investment fund aimed at Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency initially launched as a joke, as the firm looks to tap into growing enthusiasm around so-called altcoins.
The Grayscale Dogecoin Trust will allow investors to gain exposure to a digital asset that Grayscale said represents a “paradigm shift in global financial accessibility”, with low transaction costs and rapid transfer speeds.
Grayscale said it believes the token has “transitioned from a memecoin… to a tool for global financial inclusion and a viable means of payment”.
“Dogecoin is helping groups underserved by legacy financial infrastructure to participate in the financial system,” said Grayscale head of product and research Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary.
Crypto surge
The trust, which is intended to track Dogecoin’s market price, is available to eligible individual and institutional accredited investors, Grayscale said.
Cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have surged in value since Donald Trump’s re-election as US president last November, as investors expect him to introduce crypto-friendly policies.
The previous Biden administration had sought to crack down on crypto companies, with regulators filing numerous enforcement actions seeking to bring firms into line with existing securities laws.
Software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer founded Dogecoin in 2013 as a joke, seeking to poke fun at other cryptocurrencies that were gaining value in a bubble at the time.
Memecoin
However, Dogecoin has now grown to become the eighth-biggest cryptocurrency with a market capitalisation of more than $45 billion (£36bn), largely due to the support of entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Musk, who heavily backed Trump’s re-election campaign, was appointed by Trump to head an informal advisory body called the Department of Government Efficiency, whose initials DOGE also refer to the coin.
Dogecoin’s price has more than tripled over the past year, with a surge in value occurring after the November election, in common with other crypto tokens.Grayscale Launches Dogecoin Fund