Hashdex's DEFI ETF Finally Rekt — Smallest Spot Bitcoin Fund Calls It Quits 🪦

Hashdex will wind down its Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (NYSE Arca: DEFI), the smallest U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, halting trading after the market close on Aug. 17 and liquidating the roughly 225 BTC held in the fund, according to a Monday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Shareholders who still hold DEFI shares at that point are expected to receive cash distributions on or about Aug. 28 following the sale of the fund's remaining Bitcoin. "Following the Last Trading Day, the Fund will liquidate its remaining Bitcoin holdings," the filing stated. "The Fund will no longer pursue its stated investment objective and will not engage in any business activities other than winding up its business and affairs, preserving the value of its assets, paying its liabilities, and distributing its remaining assets to shareholders."

Hashdex said the decision followed a product-lineup review that weighed assets under management, trading liquidity, operating costs and investor interest. The firm noted it continues to manage more than $200 million across investment products available to U.S. investors. DEFI held about $14.7 million in assets as of July 30, with the fund's website listing a net asset value of $71.32 per share and a closing price of $71.15 as of July 31. Under its policy, the fund normally invests at least 95% of its assets in spot Bitcoin, with the remainder permitted in cash, cash equivalents, or CME-listed Bitcoin futures.

The 200,000-share fund, which had traded on NYSE Arca under the DEFI ticker since March 2024, carried net assets of $14.25 million, according to the fund's website, making it the smallest of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. The next-largest is WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust (BTCW), with $140.37 million in net assets as of Friday's market close. Originally launched in 2022 as the Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF, the product reached its highest asset level of $17.54 million on May 9, 2025, according to data tracker SoSoValue. The fund entered the spot market more than two years after the SEC's landmark January 2024 approval of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs, converting from its prior futures strategy and arriving well after 10 competing BTC funds had already debuted.

Analysts initially saw room for latecomers. "The getting is so good right now I could see this one getting some bites (if the fee is competitive) despite being so late," said Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas in a March 27, 2024 post, when BTC was trading near the then-all-time high above $73,000. Hashdex later sought to expand its U.S. lineup with a combined Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, but the SEC delayed a decision on that proposal in August 2024. The firm will stop accepting creation orders from authorized participants after the Aug. 17 close, while investors can continue buying or selling DEFI shares through brokers until the final trading session ends.