TL;DR:
- Hashdex announced the full liquidation of its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund and cash distribution to its shareholders.
- The fund holds a total of 225 BTC in reserve and a net asset value of $14.25 million distributed across 200,000 issued shares.
- The firm recorded its highest level of assets under management on May 9, 2025, reaching $17.54 million.
Crypto asset manager Hashdex will begin the liquidation process of its Bitcoin ETF, which trades under the ticker DEFI on the NYSE Arca exchange. The firm will distribute cash to shareholders after completing the sale of its 225 BTC in custody.
Operational factors and competitive context of the DEFI fund
The regulatory filing submitted to financial authorities indicates that the fund issuer cited factors such as trading liquidity, sustained operating costs, and actual investor interest behind the decision. Official data released on the company’s website in early August 2026 shows that the financial vehicle’s 200,000 outstanding shares managed net assets of $14.25 million.
The financial product originally launched in September 2022 as a futures-backed cryptocurrency fund. However, the company completed the transition to a spot-backed model in March 2024, a period when the digital asset’s price traded at historic highs above $73,000.
Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, Eric Balchunas, commented on March 27, 2024, that Hashdex’s offering could capture capital flows if it maintained competitive fees, despite entering the market months after the initial ten approved competitors in the United States.
Data from market tracker SoSoValue indicates that the fund reached its all-time high in assets on May 9, 2025, recording $17.54 million under management. According to market data at Friday’s close, the gap behind other sector competitors remained wide; for instance, the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust (BTCW) reported $140.37 million in accumulated net assets.
Reports from the firm reveal that the lack of commercial scale prevented consistent daily volume, making the operating structure unsustainable. According to stock market analysts, the fixed administrative costs required to maintain a product on NYSE Arca tend to erode the profitability of crypto products that fail to cross the $100 million threshold in raised capital.
Execution of the closure process and investor reimbursement
Official data reveals that the sale of the 225 BTC reserve will be executed gradually over the coming weeks to minimize market price impact. The funds obtained in U.S. dollars will be deposited into the brokerage accounts of registered shareholders before the end of the current month.
The exit of this product narrows the selection of direct Bitcoin exchange-traded instruments available in regulated U.S. markets. The company will continue operating other global index products, which remain unaffected by this exchange liquidation process.
