Is crypto stock DEFI a buy?

Bitcoin looks to be headed for another week of gains, with the cryptocurrency now pounding on the door of $41,000 — that’s about an 82 per cent return for the year-to-date. 

For investors looking to add crypto to their portfolios, there are a number of options aside from buying Bitcoin itself, including the Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF (Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials NYSE:DEFI).

Hashdex Bitcoin Futures is a regulated exchange traded fund, the first to be listed in the US as a bitcoin futures ETF. DEFI gives investors exposure to Bitcoin by tracking the average closing settlement prices for the front month bitcoin futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

“This gives investors the opportunity to capitalize on its growth potential, store of value characteristics, and the prospect of a decentralized future, without the complexity of self custody,” reads the profile statement from Teucrium Trading, DEFI’s sponsor.

Currently with $1.9 million in assets, DEFI has about 50,000 shares outstanding and comes with a management fee of 0.92 per cent. 

Since its debut in 2022, DEFI is up about 55 per cent.

The crypto-world has been dealing with a lot of bad press this year related to the implosion of FTX, a top crypto company whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on fraud charges.

But Bitcoin’s rally this year has been significant, and despite the tumult in the space cryptocurrencies have clearly gained more respect in the eyes of the investment world, as the longevity of coins like Bitcoin and Ether has leant a note of legitimacy to the sector that’s now a good decade out from its establishment in the mid-2010s.

“The long-term conviction of these financial behemoths — which include some of the most trusted names in asset management and retail investing — boosted sentiment and investor confidence when both were relatively low,” said Ryan Rasmussen, analyst at Bitwise Asset Management, in a CNBC report on June 23. 

“It’s a sign that the days are numbered for bad actors like Binance and FTX and that the crypto ecosystem is maturing. That’s a powerful catalyst for the industry, which has been plagued at various times by fraudsters and detractors,” Rasmussen said.

News came earlier this month that BlackRock had filed for a prospective spot bitcoin ETF. While such applications have so far been roundly rejected by the US SEC, some contend that the results could be different this time for BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.