Hashdex's Staking Plan: 40% of Net Income Goes to Common Shareholders

Hashdex has announced that its Nasdaq CME Crypto Index ETF (NCIQ) will engage in staking, allowing investors to earn rewards from holding the fund's shares. According to a July 23 Form 8-K filing, Coinbase Cloud is the initial provider of staking services and expects to begin operating promptly once operational readiness is achieved.

Under the terms of the agreement, the staking provider retains its portion of gross rewards, while Hashdex takes all remaining net staking income up to a threshold equal to 0.25% of common-share net asset value through one Sponsor Share, an unlisted class held exclusively by Hashdex. Income above this threshold is split 40% to Hashdex and 60% to the trust for holders of publicly traded NCIQ common shares.

For illustration, if net staking income reaches 1% of common-share NAV after provider fees over a full year, the trust would receive 0.45% for common shareholders. Hashdex would collect the remaining 0.55%, comprising the first 0.25% and 40% of the next 0.75 percentage point.