The first spot Dogecoin ETF (GDOG), launched by Grayscale on November 24, 2025, recorded a debut trading volume of $1.4 million, significantly underperforming the $12 million day-one forecast by Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. Balchunas attributed the subdued launch to the asset's distance from Bitcoin, stating, "the further away you get from BTC, the less asset there will be," highlighting Dogecoin's position as the 10th-largest cryptocurrency with a $23.2 billion market cap and its memecoin status lacking institutional backing.
Market conditions exacerbated the weak debut, with altcoin capitulation prevailing as Glassnode reported rising realized losses among new investors. Dogecoin's price remained flat, sliding 0.1% to $0.1531 post-launch, and inflows reached only $1.8 million over 48 hours, according to SoSoValue data. The ETF's performance paled in comparison to recent altcoin ETFs, such as the XRP ETF (XRPC) with $58 million and Solana ETF (BSOL) with $57 million in day-one volume, underscoring the challenge for memecoin-based products in a bearish environment where the crypto fear and greed index hit 10 (extreme fear).
