T. Rowe Price Defends Meme Inclusion in Active Crypto ETF

T. Rowe Price Defends Meme Inclusion in Active Crypto ETF

Mon, August 10, 2026 at 4:20 PM GMT+3 2 min read

Global asset manager T. Rowe Price has defended its decision to include Dogecoin (CRYPTO: $DOGE) in its newly launched actively managed cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund, framing the allocation as a disciplined investment strategy rather than speculation chasing an internet fad.

The T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF (TKNZ), which launched in July as the first actively managed, multi-token spot crypto ETF in the U.S., allocates 1.26% of its portfolio to Dogecoin. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH) account for roughly 60% of the fund's assets, followed by Binance Coin (CRYPTO: $BNB).

"We wanted to be truly active managers," Blue Macellari, head of digital assets and lead portfolio manager for TKNZ, said in an interview. "If meme coins are performing well and we exclude them purely on principle, we would be preventing investors from participating in that upside."

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Macellari emphasized that the firm selected Dogecoin due to its longevity and high market capitalization among digital asset classes. She added that meme coin trading acts as a real-world stress test for blockchain networks, providing valuable data on low-cost transaction efficiency, settlement speeds, and network reliability under severe congestion, factors critical to scaling stablecoins for mainstream finance.

Unlike passive competitors that replicate market-cap-weighted indices, TKNZ uses fundamental research, tokenomics, ecosystem growth, and market momentum to actively select between 5 and 15 digital assets. The fund was built under general listing standards finalized by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year.

TKNZ carries a 0.75% net management fee, supported by a fee waiver through May 2027. Rather than competing against index titans such as BlackRock in passive products, T. Rowe Price aims to offer specialized, research-driven active management in a rapidly shifting asset class.