Recently, the cryptocurrency investment giant Grayscale submitted a notable application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the world's first Spot ETF based on DOGE. This move not only marks the meme coin's formal entry into the mainstream financial market but also sparks widespread discussions in the industry regarding regulatory attitudes and market prospects.

The ETF product is named GDOG and is planned to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange Arca. GDOG will directly hold DOGE and has chosen Coinbase as the custodian, tracking the DOGE price index from CoinDesk. It is worth noting that the SEC currently classifies meme coins as "collectibles" rather than securities, which may provide some convenience for the approval process. However, regulators remain cautious, and the final decision is expected to be made in the fourth quarter of this year or postponed until 2026.

After the announcement, the price of DOGE rose slightly by 2%-2.5%, but it still fluctuates within the range of 0.15-0.25 USD. In addition to Grayscale, institutions such as Bitwise and 21Shares have also shown strong interest in meme coin ETFs, indicating that this emerging asset class is gradually gaining institutional recognition.

From a longer-term market performance perspective, DOGE has risen 14% over the past month, with a year-on-year growth rate as high as 130%. Nevertheless, the market is still debating whether the current price trend is in a consolidation phase or trending towards weakness. Some analysts point out that the recent increase in holdings by large investors may indicate that the price is in a consolidation stage. Data shows that since mid-August, the total number of wallets holding over 1 billion DOGE has increased from 70.84 billion to 71.11 billion, adding approximately 270 million DOGE.

This ETF application undoubtedly opens up new development space for meme coins, but it also presents new challenges for regulatory bodies. The SEC needs to find a balance between encouraging financial innovation and protecting investor interests. Regardless of the final outcome, Grayscale's move will be seen as an important attempt to integrate meme culture with traditional finance, which may have far-reaching effects on the digital asset market.