The line between traditional finance and digital assets continues to blur, and T. Rowe Price is leading the charge.
The $1.7 trillion asset manager has quietly taken one of its most ambitious steps yet, filing paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a new exchange-traded fund tied directly to cryptocurrencies – including the Shiba Inu token.
The proposal, which surfaced through an S-1 registration, outlines a multi-asset Spot Crypto ETF built to outperform a benchmark tracking America’s ten most valuable digital currencies. What makes this filing remarkable isn’t the inclusion of Bitcoin or Ethereum – but rather the formal introduction of Shiba Inu (SHIB) into the regulated ETF arena for the first time.
Shiba Inu Steps Into the Institutional Spotlight
For the Shiba Inu community, long seen as a retail-driven movement, the development marks a defining moment. The fund’s design gives portfolio managers freedom to shift weightings between tokens like Bitcoin, Solana, and Shiba Inu based on market conditions – a structure more akin to a hedge fund than a static index product.
Shiba Inu’s ecosystem strategist LucieSHIB called the moment “historic,” noting that having SHIB named alongside the biggest crypto assets “proves that the project has graduated from being a meme to a recognized digital asset with global reach.”
The document also highlights Shibarium, ShibaSwap, and related tokens such as LEASH, BONE, and TREAT, signaling that T. Rowe Price sees the broader Shiba ecosystem as more than a speculative trend.
Wall Street Pushes Forward Despite Policy Paralysis
What makes the timing even more striking is that the filing landed during a partial U.S. government shutdown – a period that has slowed much of Washington’s bureaucratic machinery but not the crypto ETF pipeline. Over the past month alone, new funds such as the Bitwise Solana ETF (BSOL) and Grayscale’s GSOL have successfully launched, capturing billions in early inflows.
Market watchers believe T. Rowe Price could benefit from a regulatory quirk that allows certain ETF filings to automatically go effective after 20 days, fast-tracking their debut unless the SEC intervenes. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have pointed out that this procedural shortcut may shape the competitive dynamics among asset managers eager to secure first-mover status in crypto markets.
SHIB Price
At the time of writing, Shiba Inu (SHIB) is trading around $0.00000977, down nearly 4% on the day. Technical indicators show a neutral-to-bearish setup, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovering near 38, suggesting weak buying momentum.
The MACD also reflects subdued market activity, as the signal and MACD lines remain closely aligned. For SHIB to regain upward momentum, it would need to break above the $0.000011 resistance zone, while support remains near the $0.000009 level.
Analysts See Broader Implications
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley described the current climate as “the most constructive moment digital assets have ever seen,” adding that regulators appear committed to expanding investor access to the sector rather than restricting it.
Should the SEC greenlight T. Rowe Price’s proposal, it would not only establish the first U.S. Shiba Inu ETF but also reinforce the narrative that institutional capital is ready to embrace crypto assets once dismissed as speculative.
From a Wall Street perspective, the filing represents a cultural shift: meme coins are no longer a sideshow – they’re entering the portfolios of global asset managers.
