Defiance Plans ETF That Bets Against Crypto Industry

Proposed fund seeks returns that represent the inverse of the daily performance of Amplify ETFs’ BLOK fund

article-image

Blockworks Exclusive Art by Axel Rangel

share

key takeaways

  • BLOK, which launched in 2018, declined by roughly 15% during the first three months of 2022
  • Defiance in December launched an ETF investing in NFT marketplaces and issuers

Defiance ETFs is seeking to launch a fund betting against the US’s first blockchain ETF.

The fund group’s proposed Short Blockchain and Digital Assets Industry ETF seeks returns that represent the daily inverse of the performance of Amplify ETFs’ Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK), according to a Thursday regulatory disclosure.

The proposed ETF will enter into short positions of the Amplify ETF as well as swap agreements with major global financial institutions. It seeks to achieve its investment objective only for the period of a single trading day and is not intended to be used by investors who do not actively monitor and manage their portfolios, according to the filing.

The disclosure does not indicate a ticker or expense ratio for the planned offering.

Defiance did not immediately return a request for comment. 

BLOK, which launched in January 2018, has roughly $900 million in assets under management. Though the fund’s holdings were previously limited to several mining and semiconductor companies, as well as companies investing in private blockchain stakes, Amplify CEO Christian Magoon previously told Blockworks, it now consists of more pure-play blockchain companies.

The fund’s current top five holdings are Silvergate, CME Group, SBI Holdings, MicroStrategy and Nvidia. Other constituents among the top 10 include Galaxy Digital and crypto exchange Coinbase.

Though BLOK has returned 105% since inception, the fund returned roughly -15% during the first three months of 2022, according to Amplify’s website.

A spokesperson for Amplify declined to comment on the proposed Defiance fund.

Defiance is not the first aiming to launch a product betting against the crypto industry.

Toroso revealed plans last September to bring to market the Elevate Shares Inverse Daily Blockchain ETF (KOLB), which would also seek daily results corresponding to the opposite of the performance of BLOK.

ProShares filed earlier this month to launch an ETF that would allow investors to essentially bet against bitcoin, and AXS Investments and Direxion followed suit.

Defiance has eight ETFs trading in the US with combined assets of about $1.4 billion. The firm in December launched its Digital Revolution ETF (NFTZ), which invests in NFT marketplaces and issuers.

Sylvia Jablonski, Defiance’s co-founder and chief investment officer, previously told Blockworks that NFTs will be bigger than the internet.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template Presentation.jpg

Research

The Solana validator landscape has changed drastically over the past year. The chain now has 1,332 active validators with 380.9 million SOL staked (63.9% of supply) as of February 2025. Validator revenue had diversified beyond inflationary rewards (still making up 55%) to include Jito tips (30%), priority fees (24%), and base fees (<1%), in January, especially with the increased activity on Solana. Since then, issuance has become dominant again (76%), while Jito tips (14%), priority fees (9%), and base fees (less than 1%) have reduced in share of February 2025. There has been a strong shift towards non-inflationary revenue sources, which have become more central to validator economics as priority fees and off-chain blockspace auctions gain traction. Client diversity has also improved drastically, with implementations such as Agave, Jito-Solana, and Frankendancer already in use, and upcoming clients like Firedancer and Sig expected to further strengthen resilience and reduce reliance on a single codebase.

article-image

BWR analyst Carlos Gonzalez Campo explains the consequences of SOL inflation and transfers lost to “leaky buckets”

article-image

Empire co-host Santiago Santos makes the case that memecoins have actually helped push infra forward…just not in the way you think

article-image

A16z Crypto lists seven buckets for tokens and recommendations for how to regulate them, in a filing submitted to the SEC

article-image

New model aims to resolve trading inefficiencies with a single execution layer and market maker changes

article-image

Investors navigating BTC face short-term unpredictability, influence from other markets

article-image

The GENIUS Act aims to establish regulatory guidelines for stablecoins