Hashdex plots ETF that would hold both BTC, ETH

With US spot bitcoin ETFs trading and ETH funds set to follow soon, Brazilian asset manager Hashdex looks to launch a fund that would hold both assets.

The approval of such a fund in the US would mark another milestone during a year with already a few crypto fund firsts.  

The first US spot bitcoin ETFs received the Securities and Exchange Commission’s long-awaited blessing in January. Spot ether ETF launches are imminent as the agency currently works with fund issuers to finalize the planned funds’ registration statements. 

While the proposed Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF would invest in BTC and ETH, a filing indicates it makes clear it would not invest in “crypto securities, tokenized assets or stablecoins.”

The index that the planned fund would track had a roughly 70% weighting for BTC and 30% weighting for ETH as of May 27. 

Crypto assets meeting certain criteria could be added to the index — such as being listed on a US-regulated platform or serving as the underlying asset for a derivative instrument listed on such a venue.

In such a case, Hashdex intends to shift the fund’s strategy “with only bitcoin and ether in the same proportions determined by the index, and determine whether a filing with the commission under Rule 19b-4 of the Act will be required.”

The index that the planned fund would track had a roughly 70% weighting for BTC and 30% weighting for ETH as of May 27.  

“The sponsor will employ a passive investment strategy that is intended to track the changes in the index regardless of whether the index goes up or goes down, meaning that the sponsor will not try to ‘beat’ the Index,” the filing states.

The Monday proposal was submitted by Nasdaq — the exchange on which the product would trade. It appears Hashdex has not yet submitted a registration statement, or S-1, for the planned ETF. 

A Hashdex spokesperson declined to comment beyond the filing. 

Hashdex sought to transition its bitcoin futures ETF to one that also held BTC directly in the lead-up to US spot BTC fund launches in January. It was not able to do so when its rivals debuted spot products on Jan. 11 — only later gaining that capability .

The asset manager is not currently seeking to offer a US ETF that would only invest in ether.

Updated June 18, 2024 at 11:47 am ET: Added clarification.

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter .

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter .

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.