The first U.S. spot bitcoin ETF is shutting down. Hashdex's DEFI fund will close after failing to attract enough investors. The fund held only $14.7 million in assets. Meanwhile, BlackRock's IBIT grew to $47.3 billion.
The numbers behind the closure
DEFI launched as the first spot bitcoin ETF in the United States. It never gained traction. At its peak, the fund managed a tiny fraction of what competitors pulled in. BlackRock's IBIT now holds $47.08 billion. That is more than 3,200 times DEFI's size.
Investors pulled money out of DEFI steadily. Inflows dried up. The fund became too small to operate efficiently.
Why investors left
The timing hurt. A boom in artificial intelligence stocks drew money away from crypto funds. Many investors sold bitcoin ETFs to buy AI-focused equities. DEFI suffered the most because it was the smallest.
Hashdex tried to keep the fund alive. It cut fees. It marketed to institutional clients. None of it worked. The outflows kept coming.
What happens next
Hashdex will liquidate DEFI's holdings. Investors can sell their shares before the closure date. After that, the fund will return cash to remaining shareholders.
The closure marks a stark contrast in the bitcoin ETF market. One fund dominates. Others struggle to survive. DEFI is the first to fail.
