Brazilian crypto-focused asset management firm Hashdex, in partnership with Nasdaq, began trading Brazil’s first ETF cryptoactive in the Latin American country on Monday (April 26) at the Sao Paulo stock exchange (B3). Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index Fund (HNCI), Â the world’s first Bitcoin ETF, has the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI) as reference and its ticker symbol is HASH11.
The HNCI ETF debuted with R$615 million (US$112 million) and the initial offering was led by
Genial Investimentos SA, one of the fastest-growing brokerage firms in Brazil, with two of the country’s main banks, BTG, Itaú, and Brazil’s oldest bank Banco do Brasil.
The launch of the fund builds on Hashdex Ltd’s work to bring secure crypto asset investment products to regulated financial markets around the world. The HNCI ETF offers 100% exposure to a market weighted basket of crypto assets that will adapt as the asset class evolves. With its broad market representation, trusted governance, daily liquidity, and fair fees, the fund meets the needs of
institutional investors, financial advisors, and individual investors alike.
“This fund raises the bar for the rest of the market. The arrival of HASH11 at B3 brings more comfort and security to the investor, who will have access to a basket of assets with periodic rebalancing and which follows the international safety parameters in this sector,” explained Marcelo Sampaio, CEO of Hashdex Ltd.
The ETF seeks to track the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI), an index co-developed by the Hashdex and Nasdaq to represent the institutionally investable crypto asset market. Inclusion criteria such as market representation, liquidity thresholds, presence on regulated exchanges and institutional custody support ensure that investors only own the strongest assets. The NCI and its related ETFs rebalance quarterly.
“This ETF is a significant milestone for Hashdex, for Brazil’s financial markets, and for the crypto community around the world. The crypto economy will drive innovation and economic growth globally, and Hashdex will be playing a pivotal role,” said Andrew Puschel, Head of Strategy.
Hashdex, founded in early 2018 with funding from Silicon Valley investors, is the largest crypto asset manager in Latin America with over $500M (R$ 2B) in assets under management. In September 2020, the company received approval for the launch of the world’s first cryptocurrency ETF, the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF. The product is listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (Bermuda Stock Exchange – BSX), considering Bermuda’s advanced regulation of the market for digital assets.
Beyond Brazil, where institutional investors will now have access to trade bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies, the only other country to approve its own Bitcoin ETFs is Canada. ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) are investment funds that have, as the reference for the composition of their portfolio, some index of a Stock Exchange.
