Hashdex’s DEFI Goes Dark, the First U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF to Close:

HedgeCo.Net — Monday is the last session for Hashdex Bitcoin ETF, ticker DEFI on NYSE Arca, the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund to be taken off the board. Hashdex Asset Management Ltd., the sponsor, said in an August 3 plan and an 8-K that the fund will accept no creation orders after August 17 and that trading will be suspended after the close. Assets were about $14.7 million as of July 30. CoinDesk, reviewing the same closure, put WisdomTree’s BTCW, the next-smallest U.S. spot bitcoin ETF, at $142.4 million and BlackRock’s IBIT at $47.08 billion. Scale, not a thesis change on bitcoin, is what killed the share class.

Shareholders can sell on the exchange through the close. Anyone still on the register will receive a cash liquidating distribution after the fund sells its remaining bitcoin. The 8-K points to on or about August 24. The sponsor’s press release points to on or about August 28. Both filings say the dates may move, and the cash will reflect selling costs and bitcoin’s path during the wind-down. Hashdex said it still manages more than $200 million in other products available to U.S. investors. DEFI was the smallest U.S. spot bitcoin ETF, converted from a futures wrapper after the January 2024 spot approvals.