SEC files Form 25 for Bitwise Dogecoin ETF as wind-down nears its end

The SEC has filed a Form 25 for the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF, referenced under DOGE. That is the paperwork tied to pulling a fund off an exchange listing, and it is the formal step that follows Bitwise’s decision to shut the product down.

From launch to liquidation in under a year

Bitwise Investment Advisers launched its spot Dogecoin ETF, which trades under the ticker BWOW, on November 26, 2025. It started life with $2.5 million in seed funding.

Early signs looked respectable. Trading volume reached approximately $3 million during the fund’s first week, which suggested some curiosity from the market.

That curiosity did not last. Assets under management fell to approximately $688,000 by early September 2026, and stood at $725,870 by October 7, 2026.

Investors did not simply ignore it. They actively pulled cash out, with total net outflows surpassing $1.3 million since launch.

Activity dried up too. Trading volume for BWOW in September 2026 came to $51,480, a fraction of that busy opening week.

The fund charged an expense ratio of 0.34%. On a fund this small, that fee generates very little revenue for the issuer, which helps explain why keeping it alive stopped making sense.

The timeline for shutting down

Bitwise announced the liquidation through an 8-K filing on September 10, 2026. The Form 25 is the next piece of the delisting process.

The final trading day for BWOW is set for October 14, 2026. After that, investors are expected to receive cash distributions on or around October 22, 2026.

At the time of the wind-down, the ETF held about 8.2 million DOGE. That stash was valued at under $700,000.

Why Dogecoin did not click with ETF buyers

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley expressed disappointment over how the product performed. His explanation centered on a mismatch between audiences.

According to Horsley, people who buy traditional ETFs were hesitant to put money into Dogecoin. The people who actually like Dogecoin, meanwhile, are not necessarily the ones shopping for exchange-traded funds in a brokerage account.

Horsley also noted that he personally holds DOGE. So the closure does not reflect a verdict on the coin from the top of the company, just on whether a regulated fund was the right way to sell it.

The contrast with the rest of Bitwise’s lineup is notable. The firm has seen stronger demand for more established products, including its Solana staking ETF.

What this means for single-asset crypto funds

There is also a practical lesson about economics. A fund charging 0.34% on less than $1 million in assets brings in only a small amount in annual fees, which is unlikely to cover the cost of running a listed product. Seed money can launch a fund, but it cannot keep one alive without follow-on demand.

For current BWOW holders, the key dates are October 14, 2026, for the last day of trading, and on or around October 22, 2026, for cash distributions. Anyone still in the fund should expect cash back rather than DOGE.