(Boursier.com) — Tidal Investments LLC, a leading player in the ETF industry in the USA, and Hashdex Asset Management Ltd, a leading global asset manager focused on crypto-assets, announced the name change from the Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF to Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (NYSE Arca Ticker: DEFI, CUSIP: 88634V100). DEFI’s name change corresponds to the completion of the conversion of its investment strategy allowing the Fund to provide spot bitcoin holdings and track a new benchmark index starting March 27, 2024.
The Fund’s new benchmark is the Nasdaq Bitcoin Reference Price – Settlement (NQBTCS), which better reflects the Fund’s new direct bitcoin investment strategy. Moving 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 bitcoin spot. Up to 5% of the Fund’s remaining assets may be invested in CME-traded bitcoin futures contracts and cash and cash equivalents.
Hashdex serves as a digital asset advisor for DEFI, with Tidal serving as a sponsor for DEFI. Tidal ETF Services LLC serves as administrator for the Fund and BitGo serves as custodian of Bitcoin.
“Since our founding in 2018, Hashdex has firmly believed that bitcoin is a generational opportunity. This belief has driven our continued focus on helping investors understand this transformational asset and offering products that enable regulated participation in the ecosystem blockchain” said Marcelo Sampaio, co-founder and CEO of Hashdex. “We are excited to complete the conversion of DEFI, and with it deliver an innovative product in coordination with Tidal that advances our mission to empower individuals and institutions across the world to access this groundbreaking innovation.”
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The Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF launched on the NYSE in 2022 as the world’s first bitcoin futures ETF as a commodity pool registered under the Securities Act of 1933. The completed conversion of the Fund to a spot bitcoin ETF allows investors to gain spot exposure through an established product.
“We are excited to invite all investors – whether those who already have full conviction in bitcoin, those considering an allocation for the first time, or anyone in between – to join us on our journey to make digital assets accessible” said Samir Kerbage, CIO at Hashdex. “Hashdex was founded six years ago to educate investors and advisors and ensure they have the ability to participate in bitcoin’s potential upside with confidence. With our extensive experience as an asset-focused firm digital companies managing spot ETFs and ETPs across multiple regions, we are excited to work alongside Tidal to deliver this compelling product.”
Hashdex’s Bitcoin ETF was specifically designed with a methodology that allows investors to track the price of bitcoin, including innovative features that highlight its significant interrelationship with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In particular, unlike other bitcoin ETFs, the Fund acquires, disposes of and values its bitcoins transparently using the CME futures exchange for physical transactions and prices monitored by the CME.
“We chose to partner with Hashdex on the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF because we knew that the firm’s extensive experience in this area would ensure that we were tailor-building an efficient product for investors, capable of delivering benefits which might otherwise be unavailable when trading bitcoin directly on unregulated markets,” said Mike Venuto, CIO and co-founder of Tidal. “With a shared commitment to the long-term value that digital assets can bring, and a history of offering innovative products focused exclusively on digital assets, we look forward to beginning this new chapter as we deliver another digital asset solution. “Innovative investment that will further accelerate investor exposure to bitcoin and increase its adoption across the United States.”