Hashdex’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) will start trading today on the US market as “DEFI,” according to Yahoo Finance data. The fund has already seen a pre-market increase of over 3%, indicating high trader interest.

In a statement on March 26, Tidal Investments and Hashdex revealed that the Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF had been rebranded as Hashdex Bitcoin ETF, now listed as “DEFI.” The fund’s benchmark will be the Nasdaq Bitcoin Reference Price Settlement (NQBTCS) to align with its direct Bitcoin investment strategy.

Hashdex emphasized its transparent Bitcoin trading approach, using the CME futures exchange for physical transactions and pricing monitored by CME. The ETF will hold at least 95% of assets in physical Bitcoin, with the remaining 5% potentially invested in CME-traded Bitcoin futures contracts and cash.

Hashdex announced that BitGo would act as the Bitcoin custodian, with Tidal as the ETF sponsor and administrator. CEO Marcelo Sampaio expressed excitement about the launch, calling DEFI an innovative product that aligns with their goal of providing global access to Bitcoin.

With the recent success of Bitcoin ETFs in the US, led by BlackRock’s IBIT, DEFI’s competition may lie in offering lower fees than its rivals. Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, suggested that despite being a latecomer, DEFI could attract interest if its fees are competitive. The fund’s prospectus indicates a fee around 0.90%, slightly higher than the industry average.

ETFStore president Nate Geraci predicted that Hashdex DEFI ETF would attract early interest in the market, particularly from crypto-native companies.