Hashdex to Liquidate DEFI Bitcoin ETF, the Market's Smallest US Spot Bitcoin Fund
Key Takeaways
- •Hashdex will liquidate its spot Bitcoin ETF (DEFI) this month by selling approximately 225 BTC and distributing cash to remaining shareholders.
- •The fund held $14.25 million in net assets and never surpassed $18 million at any point during its lifetime.
- •The liquidation decision was based on factors including trading liquidity, operating costs, and investor interest.
- •The US spot Bitcoin ETF market has grown to roughly $100 billion, but the majority of assets are concentrated in BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's FBTC.
- •The next smallest US-traded Bitcoin ETF, WisdomTree's BTCW, holds approximately $140.37 million in net assets, nearly ten times the size of DEFI.
Hashdex has announced it will liquidate its eponymous spot-price Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (DEFI) this month, distributing cash to all remaining shareholders and selling the fund's approximately 225 BTC holdings.
In a filing on Monday, the fund issuer stated that the decision was made after evaluating factors including trading liquidity, operating costs, and investor interest. The fund's 200,000 shares, which have traded on NYSE Arca under the DEFI ticker since March 2024, have net assets of $14.25 million, according to the fund's website.
The fund was never able to attract more than $18 million in net assets throughout its lifetime.
DEFI entered the market months after the first of ten other competing spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024. At the time of its conversion, Bitcoin was trading at what was then an all-time high of more than $73,000. Despite the late start, some analysts saw potential for the product to gain traction. The US spot Bitcoin ETF market has since grown into a roughly $100 billion category, but assets have concentrated heavily in the two largest funds — BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) — which together account for the majority of combined net assets.
"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 post on X dated March 27, 2024.
The fund was originally launched in 2022 as the Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF before converting to a spot-price Bitcoin ETF. Its highest net asset level reached $17.54 million on May 9, 2025, according to data from SoSoValue&coin=BTC&page=usBTC&isDynamicHkPage=1).
The gap between DEFI and the next smallest US-traded Bitcoin ETF is substantial. WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust (BTCW) holds $140.37 million in net assets as of Friday's market close, roughly ten times the size of DEFI. Beyond the top two issuers, several smaller spot Bitcoin ETFs have also remained below $1 billion in net assets, highlighting the scale advantages that early entrants and major brand-name asset managers have retained throughout the first year and a half of trading.