According to a memorandum dated October 24, digital asset management company Hashdex has engaged in discussions with the SEC regarding their ETF filing, which involves the purchase of physical Bitcoin.

In a subsequent post on X, Nate Geraci, co-founder of The ETF Institute and host of the ETF Prime Podcast, emphasizes the significance of this ongoing dialogue and its relevance to the community.

The memorandum, which featured a presentation by Hashdex, indicates that the CME market has sufficiently evolved to support their new product. It references the Teucrium Order from April 2022, highlighting that the CME Bitcoin futures market has matured to a level capable of supporting ETPs that seek exposure to Bitcoin by holding CME Bitcoin futures contracts.

Additionally, the SEC observed no adverse effects on settlement prices, spreads, or roll costs of CME Bitcoin futures contracts due to the presence of Bitcoin futures ETFs, as stated in the Teucrium Order.

Hashdex concludes that with open interest having grown by nearly 50 percent since 2022, it is now even less likely that trading this ETP would significantly impact CME prices. Their presentation concludes with the assertion that their filing addresses the Commission's concerns about market manipulation and provides substantial safeguards for investors.

Initiating a Strategic Shift

NYSE submitted a 19b-4 filing for the DeFi ETF on August 25. Under this submission, the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF would undergo a strategic shift to focus on holding spot Bitcoin.

This filing is particularly noteworthy because it departs from the conventional reliance on Coinbase SSA and instead proposes the acquisition of spot Bitcoin through the CME Market's Exchange.