Hashdex Launches World's First Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ETF

"As the largest crypto asset manager in Latin America, Hashdex continues to deliver on our mission of helping people around the world better understand and gain diversified exposure to the crypto asset class," said Marcelo Sampaio, CEO of Hashdex. "We are confident that DeFi, through its innovative and disruptive technology, will exponentially grow and play a vital role in the financial sector of the future. By offering the first DeFi ETF in the world, we are providing our global investors with the ability to play a part in the next evolution of the crypto ecosystem."

DeFi leverages blockchain and smart contracts to enable the creation of a new infrastructure for traditional financial services, such as loans, insurance and value transactions. In partnership with CF Benchmarks, a leading global crypto index provider, DEFI11 will mirror the "CF DeFi Composite Index" (BLOOMBERG: CFDFMCUB), an index that follows strict eligibility criteria to obtain the best representation of the DeFi phenomenon.

"CF Benchmarks is very proud that the CF DeFi Composite Index will be the world's first DeFi Index to be tracked by an ETF. That our partner, Hashdex, is a pioneer in Digital Asset Management, with a strong multi-year track record, makes it doubly satisfying. The CF DeFi Composite index is the first to be driven by the CF Digital Asset Classification Structure (DACS) and we are very excited to be able to bring these methodologies to the investment community to further their understanding of the blockchain economy and enable smarter allocation decisions to a greater range of digital assets," said Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks.

The index has a total of 12 assets, divided into three sub-portfolios to accurately reflect the entire value chain underpinning DeFi services:

• DeFi dApps, protocols that offer practical and modern solutions for financial services (Uniswap, AAVE, Compound, Maker, Yearn, Curve, Synthetix, and AMP);
• Service Protocols, which support DeFi protocols with data query services, often referred to as "Oracle" providers, and scalability solutions (Chainlink, The Graph, and Polygon); and
• Settlement Networks, blockchain on which transactions are validated and recorded (Ethereum network).

Expanding Expertise Globally

The introduction of DEFI11 builds on Hashdex's position as a global pioneer in crypto asset management. The firm is an exclusive partner of Nasdaq and co-developed the Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™), which benchmarks the institutionally investable crypto market. Hashdex launched the world's first crypto ETFs, including the Hashdex-Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF (HASH11), and in its home country of Brazil the majority of regulated crypto assets are invested through Hashdex's ETFs listed on the Brazil Stock Exchange.

The firm also holds an exclusive partnership with Victory Capital, an asset manager with $162 billion in assets under management as of October 31, 2021, to bring innovative crypto investment products to the U.S. market. The first product, the Victory Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index Fund, is a private fund available to accredited investors. As part of its accelerating U.S. operations, Hashdex also recently announced the hiring of key U.S.-based senior executives as the firm accelerates its operations in the country.

Hashdex currently has more than 250,000 investors globally in its products. KPMG serves as the independent auditor for Hashdex's funds, with Fidelity Digital Assets, Coinbase Custody, and Bitgo Trust serving as custodians of digital assets managed by Hashdex. CF Benchmarks is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kraken.

About Hashdex  
Hashdex is a global pioneer in crypto asset management. Hashdex's simple and secure funds invite innovative investors to join the emerging crypto economy. Hashdex's mission is to provide educational resources and best-in-class products that advance its efforts to build pathways to prosperity by opening the crypto ecosystem to the world. The firm co-created and launched the Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) to provide global investors with a reliable benchmark for the crypto asset class. In 2021, Hashdex introduced the world's first crypto index ETFs, enabling over 250,000 investors to simply and securely add crypto to their portfolios. For more information visit www.hashdex.com.

About CF Benchmarks 
CF Benchmarks is the leading provider of cryptocurrency benchmark indices, authorized and regulated by the UK FCA under the UK BMR. Its benchmark indices are provided through public methodologies and transparent governance; for tracking, valuing and settling risk in cryptocurrency financial services and products. CF Benchmarks' indices have been used to settle over $400bn of cryptocurrency derivative contracts listed for trading by CME Group and Kraken Futures, as well as serving as the reference index for ETFs and ETPs listed in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Brazil. CF Benchmarks is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kraken. 

Media Contacts:  
Ryan Dicovitsky/Josh Gerth 
Dukas Linden Public Relations
[email protected]

Jack S. Song 
Hashdex  
[email protected]

Caroline Baker 
US Communications at Kraken 
[email protected]

SOURCE Hashdex