Hashdex Bitcoin ETF reaches its last trading day before liquidation
The DEFI fund is scheduled to stop trading after Aug. 17, with Hashdex planning to sell its remaining bitcoin and make a cash distribution around Aug. 28.
By The Third AnglePublished 3 min read
A financial-market display used as an illustrative image for the ETF closure; it does not depict Hashdex or the DEFI fund. Photo: Unsplash · Unsplash License
Hashdex’s Bitcoin ETF is scheduled to stop trading after Aug. 17, closing the fund’s route to listed bitcoin exposure before the vehicle is liquidated. In an Exhibit 99.1 filed with the SEC, Hashdex said the fund had about $14.7 million in assets under management as of July 30 and that it had authorized the closure after reviewing assets, liquidity, costs, investor interest and its broader product lineup.
The fund trades under the ticker DEFI on NYSE Arca. The announcement says shareholders can sell through the close of business on the last trading day, subject to customary brokerage charges. After that session, the shares will no longer trade on the exchange and will be delisted.
What the liquidation changes
Following the last trading day, Hashdex says it will sell the fund’s remaining bitcoin and wind up the trust’s affairs. The fund will stop pursuing its stated investment objective and will not conduct other business beyond preserving assets, paying liabilities and distributing what remains to shareholders.
The company currently expects the cash liquidating distribution to be paid around Aug. 28. The amount will be based on the fund’s net asset value on the liquidation date, after closing and transaction costs. Bitcoin’s price can move materially while the fund sells its holdings, so the final payment is not fixed by the fund’s value at the last trading close.
A small fund in a crowded market
Hashdex entered the U.S. spot-bitcoin ETF market after converting its futures product, joining a field that includes much larger funds. Its current DEFI product page still describes the fund as designed to track bitcoin’s price performance, but it also warns that a small asset base can make operating costs and portfolio transactions more significant.
The closure is therefore both a fund-specific wind-down and a reminder that approval does not guarantee scale. The next public checkpoints are the end of trading, the sale of the remaining bitcoin and the final distribution investors receive after liquidation costs.
