Crypto asset management Hashdex announced on Tuesday that it launched its Bitcoin ETF on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the eleventh Bitcoin ETF to go live since the SEC approved the bulk of fund applications in January.
Hashdex’s entry originally launched in September 2022 as a Bitcoin Futures ETF trading on the New York Stock Exchange as DEFI. The Switzerland-based firm said it has converted that product to a spot Bitcoin ETF to offer investors more immediate exposure to the number one cryptocurrency.
Unlike other spot Bitcoin ETFs, however, Hashdex launched its product within the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). And the new fund will continue to incorporate Bitcoin futures.
“Going forward and under normal market conditions, the fund’s investment policy is to maximize its holdings of physical Bitcoin such that it is expected that at least 95% of the fund’s assets will be invested in spot Bitcoin,” Hashdex said. “Up to 5% of the fund’s remaining assets may be invested in CME-traded Bitcoin futures contracts and in cash and cash equivalents.”
A Bitcoin Futures ETF refers to investments in futures contracts that offer indirect Bitcoin exposure, whereas a spot Bitcoin ETF holds actual Bitcoin, providing direct market price exposure.
Hashdex says the Bitcoin ETF holds 5,500 Bitcoins, currently worth around $377.2 million.
The spot Bitcoin ETF is sponsored by Tidal ETF Services, Hashdex said, which serves as the fund’s administrator along with BitGo, which acts as the custodian of the Bitcoin underpinning the ETF.
“We are thrilled to complete the conversion of DEFI and, with it, deliver an innovative product in coordination with Tidal that furthers our mission of empowering individuals and institutions around the world to access this revolutionary innovation,” Hashdex co-founder and CEO Marcelo Sampaio said in a statement.
In January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved ten spot Bitcoin ETFs from investment firms, including BlackRock, Bitwise, Grayscale, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, and ARK 21 Shares.
While Hashdex did file a Bitcoin ETF application with the SEC, the regulatory agency was still reviewing the final registration statement when the other firms’ applications were approved in January, delaying the company’s launch plans.
“DEFI originally received its 19b-4 approval first alongside other issuers, and this latest announcement is regarding the product going effective and converting from a futures to a spot Bitcoin ETF,” a Hashdex spokesperson told Decrypt. “To that end, its tracking of a new benchmark index became effective today, March 27, 2024.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
