Jan 31 (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.