FILE PHOTO: A representation of cryptocurrency Dogecoin is placed on a PC motherboard in this illustration taken June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo
(Reuters) - Grayscale Investments said on Friday it was launching an investment fund aimed at dogecoin, as the cryptocurrency asset manager looks to tap into the increasing momentum around alternatives to bitcoin.
The Grayscale Dogecoin Trust will offer investors an opportunity to gain exposure to a token that the company believes has "transitioned from a memecoin... to a tool for global financial inclusion and a viable means of payment".
Investors are hunting for gains beyond bitcoin, and firms like Grayscale are looking to tap into the growing popularity of altcoins — a term used for crypto tokens other than the world's biggest cryptocurrency.
"Dogecoin is helping groups underserved by legacy financial infrastructure to participate in the financial system," said Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Grayscale's head of product and research.
Founded in 2013, Stamford, Connecticut-based Grayscale offers investors exposure to crypto through more than 25 investment products.
The trust, which is designed to track dogecoin's market price, is now available for subscriptions to eligible individual and institutional accredited investors.
The coin was conceived as a joke during an earlier crypto bubble, but it has steadily gained popularity, partly due to the support of Tesla CEO and the world's richest man, Elon Musk.
It is now the world's eighth-biggest token, with a market cap of about $50 billion, according to data from cryptocurrency data and analysis firm CoinGecko.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) - a Musk-led advisory group under the Trump administration aimed at carrying out cuts to the U.S. government - also references dogecoin.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
