Hashdex said it will shut down and liquidate its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF with the ticker DEFI, with trading set to end and the fund to be delisted on August 17, 2026.

The closure would make DEFI the first spot Bitcoin ETF to leave the market. Hashdex said that after the final trading day, the fund will stop accepting creation orders, sell the bitcoin held in its account, and wind up operations.

How the wind-down will work

According to the company’s release, shareholders who do not redeem their shares by the deadline will be entitled to receive a cash distribution. After trading ends, the fund is expected to fully liquidate the bitcoin in its account.

Hashdex also said the ETF will no longer pursue its stated investment objective or conduct any other activity once the liquidation process begins.

Fund size and market position

DEFI held $14.7 million in assets under management at the time of the announcement. The fund had recorded net inflows of $4.27 million, placing it last by that measure among comparable products mentioned in the report.

Its share of the spot Bitcoin ETF market was below 0.1%, underscoring how small the product remained relative to its peers.

Hashdex points to its broader U.S. business

While announcing the closure of DEFI, Hashdex said it still manages about $200 million in assets across products available to U.S. investors. The company highlighted the Hashdex Nasdaq CME Crypto Index ETF, a multi-asset crypto fund that launched in February 2025.

The statement suggests the firm is narrowing its lineup rather than exiting the U.S. market entirely.

What happens next

The next confirmed step is August 17, 2026, when trading in DEFI is scheduled to cease and the ETF is set to be delisted. After that, the fund will stop taking creation orders and move through liquidation.

The announcement adds DEFI’s closure to a broader pattern described in the report of project shutdowns and staff reductions across the sector, though the article does not provide further details on those wider cutbacks.

Source: incrypted.com