Dogecoin in 2025: politics and ETFs come into play, but price disappoints

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Dogecoin in 2025: Politics and ETFs Enter the Scene, but Price Disappoints Original Link: https://portaldobitcoin.uol.com.br/dogecoin-em-2025-politica-e-etfs-entram-em-cena-mas-preco-decepciona/ It started as a joke, but this year Dogecoin was embraced by institutions, bought by publicly traded companies, and had its name associated with a highly controversial initiative by the U.S. government, led by billionaire Elon Musk.

Still, despite all this, the original memecoin did not hit a new all-time high — to the frustration of its most loyal fan base. On December 15, DOGE had erased all gains accumulated in 2025, with a decline of about 65% over 12 months.

As a result, Dogecoin had a strange year: it moved away from its community ethos without gaining the financial benefits many expected. Still, Dogecoin developers believe the project is positioned for an explosive 2026.

The Department of Government Efficiency

At the end of 2024, the Trump administration appointed Musk as the public face of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, although his formal authority within the agency later became a point of dispute.

The department’s goal was to cut government spending as much as possible. In 2025, confusion continued, with Dogecoin somehow at the center of it all.

Minutes after President Trump’s inauguration, the Musk-led department was targeted by a lawsuit filed by the public interest law firm National Security Counselors. The 30-page complaint alleged that DOGE was operating illegally as a federal advisory committee by violating laws under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, related to hiring, disclosures, and other issues.

The next day, the Dogecoin logo appeared on the Department of Government Efficiency’s website. As a result, the memecoin rose 14%, reaching a market value of $58 billion. The logo was removed shortly after, causing the token to fall, while the website became a dashboard to track the supposed spending cuts that DOGE was making.

According to Bloomberg, Musk even considered using a public blockchain for the agency, though he dismissed using Dogecoin directly. This blockchain implementation never materialized.

After the department began operating, controversies did not cease. DOGE mistakenly cut around 2,000 healthcare professionals, pushed for reductions in foreign aid — which critics argued would harm global health — and was accused of inflating its supposed savings.

Alex Hoffman, head of the Dogecoin application layer ecosystem, DogeOS, said his family thought he was joining Musk’s agency when he mentioned working with DOGE. In reality, he was helping develop a product for Dogecoin. This is just one example of how the cryptocurrency was politicized this year by Musk, to the point that the general public began to directly associate the two.

“Do you know what the Dogecoin community says DOGE stands for? Do Only Good Every day,” Hoffman explained. “As a community, we have a lot of power to be like DOGE: do only good every day. Of course, Elon appropriated that. That’s okay. But the community is very focused on doing positive things.”

The Department of Government Efficiency eventually faded into obscurity, with Musk being removed from the U.S. government.

Dogecoin Goes Corporate

Digital asset treasuries dominated the narrative this year, while some altcoin and memecoin ETFs also gained prominence. Dogecoin ended up fitting into both trends.

In January, REX Shares filed to create a Dogecoin ETF. Analysts estimated approval could happen in April — which did not occur.

Two months later, the Dogecoin Foundation created the House of Doge to promote adoption of Dogecoin through corporate agreements. Ten million DOGE, roughly $1.83 million at the time, were reserved for these initiatives.

In June, an old publicly traded cannabis company, rebranded as Dogecoin Cash, made a treasury move in Dogecoin by creating a new subsidiary, Dogecoin Treasury Inc. The company did not clarify its plans, but its telemedicine platform began accepting Dogecoin as a payment method months later.

In early July, Bitcoin treasury-focused company Thumzup turned to Dogecoin to diversify its assets and later acquired a Dogecoin mining company. In the same month, Bitcoin miner Bit Origin bought $10 million worth of Dogecoin to create a memecoin treasury. Since these acquisitions, Dogecoin’s price has only fallen.

In September, a new treasury company emerged with CleanCore Solutions, which appointed Elon Musk’s personal lawyer, Alex Spiro, as chairman of the board.

CleanCore Solutions was presented as the first “official” DOGE treasury due to its connections with the Dogecoin Foundation and the House of Doge. As of December 15, CleanCore held 733.1 million DOGE, worth about $90 million.

In the same month, the first Dogecoin ETF began trading in the United States and “shattered” analysts’ expectations in its initial trading. In November, Grayscale’s ETF launched with a slow start, followed shortly after by Bitwise’s fund.

“From my perspective, all of this is positive for DOGE on a macro level,” Hoffman said. “What I’ve learned is that the DOGE community wants validation and utility. Everything happening in that regard reinforces the idea that Dogecoin deserves and is receiving validation.”

Similarly, the House of Doge went public on Nasdaq in October through a reverse merger with Brag House Holdings, an online gaming company targeting college audiences.

The corporate arm of the Dogecoin Foundation then acquired a majority stake in the European football club U.S. Triestina Calcio 1918 — and displayed the Dogecoin logo on the team’s uniforms and stadium.

Despite all these seemingly optimistic news, Dogecoin failed to reach a new all-time high. In fact, it is the only cryptocurrency among the top ten by market cap that did not hit a new peak during the recent bull market.

“Dogecoin remains firmly on a growth trajectory tied to utility, not speculation,” said Timothy Stebbing, director of the Dogecoin Foundation. “In previous years, Dogecoin led the group of speculative assets, but it has been finding its space as a utility currency. And, as expected, this puts it on a different growth path than cryptocurrencies chasing the fairy tale of ‘always up.’”