Hashdex ended trading and creation orders for its DEFI Bitcoin ETF on August 17, marking the closure of the cryptocurrency asset manager’s sole Bitcoin product less than 16 months after launch. The fund will liquidate remaining Bitcoin holdings and distribute cash to shareholders, according to an SEC filing.
DEFI held $14.7 million in assets under management as of July 30, a fraction of competing products. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) held $48.07 billion in net assets as of August 5, making it roughly 3,000 times larger than DEFI at the time of closure.
Hashdex cited operational constraints in its decision. “DEFI’s net assets relative to its operating expenses made it unreasonable and imprudent to continue the fund over the long term,” the company stated in its SEC filing. The closure decision cited fund asset base, trading liquidity, operating costs, investor interest, product fit, and operational factors.
The liquidation unfolds as U.S. Bitcoin ETFs logged strong inflows. On August 18, the day after DEFI’s final trading session, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $189.3 million in net inflows, according to Farside Investors data. IBIT alone captured $143.6 million of those inflows on that single day.
DEFI launched on March 27, 2024. Hashdex announced the closure on August 3, giving shareholders two weeks’ notice before the fund stopped accepting new positions. The fund was the sole series of the Hashdex Commodities Trust. Hashdex’s other Bitcoin product, the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index ETF (NCIQ), continues operating. Hashdex manages approximately $200 million in products available to U.S. investors across its product suite.
Cash distribution to DEFI shareholders will reflect closing costs, transaction costs, and Bitcoin price movements during the liquidation period. Distribution dates cited in Hashdex’s public materials show inconsistency: August 28 appears in the public announcement and press release, while August 24 is referenced in the SEC filing body and liquidation plan. Hashdex did not clarify which date will apply or whether either may shift.
