The Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF will debut later this year on the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

Brazilian asset management firm Hashdex and Nasdaq have collaborated on the development of a new ETF product dubbed the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF. The ETF will track a blockchain index that will comprise bitcoin as well as several other crypto-assets. The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) approved the new ETF for listing on September 18. (CryptoNews)

Why Bermuda?

In the U.S. the SEC has nixed several applications for a bitcoin ETF, and there is no clarity on whether a bitcoin ETF listed on a U.S. exchange will see the light of day. Meanwhile, Jay Clayton, the current SEC chairman, is known to be leery of bitcoin and its ETF.

On the other hand, Bermuda has more crypto-friendly regulations. That explains Hashdex’s decision to list its ETF in Bermuda, according to Infomoney, a Brazilian media outfit.

On September 18, the BSX announced that it had admitted for listing three million Class E shares in the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF.

The ETF is likely to commence trading within this year.

Further details of the ETF would be available at the time of launch.

Institutional interest

The ETF will boost the institutional adoption of bitcoin and crypto-assets. It offers a regulated and insured means to get exposure to the asset class without the attendant risks of physically holding the underlying assets.

“This launch will validate our thesis that institutional investment in the digital assets segment should grow significantly in the coming years,” said Marcelo Sampaio, co-founder and CEO of Hashdex, to Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

Meanwhile, a bitcoin ETF in the U.S. is still the Holy Grail for crypto investors. It would give a huge fillip to bitcoin volumes, price discovery and institutional participation.

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