Bitwise co-founder and CEO Hunter Horsley said the firm’s Dogecoin ETF ended on what he called a "tragic" note, using the product as an example of how ETF buyers and users of crypto trading apps often want very different things. Speaking at the Asia Digital Asset Summit, Horsley said that split helps explain why mainstream assets tend to fare better in the ETF market.
Dogecoin ETF heads for closure
Bitwise Dogecoin ETF (BWOW) launched on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2025, and trading is set to end on Oct. 14. According to SoSoValue data, the fund had about $726,000 in assets under management as of Oct. 7, while its trading volume for September was only $51,000.
Horsley said: "I like Dogecoin, and I own Dogecoin myself. I think it is very honest about what it is. Historically, it really has been a token with no utility, but it represents a culture. As an asset, that makes sense, but as an ETF it never gained traction."
Solana fund shows a different outcome
Horsley contrasted BWOW with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BBSOL), which he said has reached $1.3 billion in assets under management.
In his view, investors see Solana as a beneficiary of tokenization, stablecoins and Vaults moving on-chain. Money going into that fund is, in effect, a bet on the Solana ecosystem.
ETF investors and crypto users are not the same market
Horsley said BWOW’s failure revealed a "delta" between ETF investors and crypto app users. ETF buyers, he said, are more inclined to hold assets that have already been validated by the market, while crypto app users are more easily pulled by new trends and community sentiment.
"ETF users just do not want to put money into Dogecoin, though that may change over time," Horsley said. He rejected the idea that Bitwise had positioned the product incorrectly, describing crypto ETFs instead as a "channel" for giving traditional investors access to crypto markets rather than a vehicle that directly mirrors the risk appetite seen inside crypto-native trading venues.
AI becomes a new front for Bitwise
Horsley also tied crypto to artificial intelligence, saying the two are "cut from the same cloth." He described crypto as rebuilding financial services in software, while AI allows machines to replace human labor in completing tasks. As AI advances, he said, its preferred financial system will be "millisecond-level smart contracts, not bank counters behind glass."
He pointed to Bitwise’s newly launched NEAR ETF (NRR) as one example of the overlap between AI and crypto. Horsley said NEAR Protocol’s NEAR Intents feature allows users or AI agents to swap and send assets across chains without handling bridging themselves. He said NEAR has more room to grow as AI agents gain broader financial capabilities.
Public filings show Bitwise has already submitted two AI-related ETF applications: the Bitwise AI Cyber Defense ETF in August and the Bitwise AI Bond ETF in September. Horsley said those filings reflect AI’s place as a strategic priority for the firm.
Five-year view favors index exposure
Asked for investment ideas over the next five years, Horsley recommended the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF (BITW) and the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ).
He explained the view this way: "The lesson for me over the past few years is that the market keeps changing. BITW holds Hyperliquid, Zcash and Uniswap today. If the market changes in the future, the fund will automatically adjust its holdings."