Hashdex Winds Down Spot Bitcoin ETF Due to Operational and Competitive Pressures

Hashdex, a crypto asset manager, has announced the liquidation of its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which trades under the ticker DEFI on the NYSE Arca exchange. The decision to close the fund was made due to operational factors and competitive context, according to a regulatory filing submitted by the company.

The fund holds 225 BTC in reserve with a net asset value of $14.25 million distributed across 200,000 issued shares. Hashdex recorded its highest level of assets under management on May 9, 2025, reaching $17.54 million. The financial product originally launched as a futures-backed cryptocurrency fund in September 2022 and transitioned to a spot-backed model in March 2024.

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.