CORRESP 1 filename1.htm
 

 

 

 

 

February 20, 2024

 

 

 

Via EDGAR

 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Division of Corporation Finance

Office of Crypto Assets

100 F Street, N.E.

Washington, DC 20549

 

Peter J. Shea

 

Peter.Shea@klgates.com

 

T +1 212 536 3988

F +1 212 536 3901

 

 

  Re:

Tidal Commodities Trust I (File No. 333-276254)

Hashdex Bitcoin ETF

Amendment No. 4 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 & Comment Response

 

 

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: 

 

On behalf of our client, Tidal Commodities Trust I, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Registrant”), which will operate, as a separate series of the Registrant, the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (the “Fund”), we are filing together with this correspondence Pre-Effective Amendment No. 4 (“Amendment”) to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1 (“Registration Statement”) (File No. 333-276254). The Amendment and this correspondence provide the Registrant’s responses to comments of the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) presented in the Staff’s comment letter dated February 13, 2024 (“Comment Letter”), addressing Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement that was filed by the Registrant on January 26, 2024.

 

Each of the Staff’s comments from the Comment Letter is repeated below in italics and followed by the Registrant’s response. Capitalized terms used, but not defined, herein are used with the same meaning given to them in the Amendment. Any disclosure changes made in response to the Staff’s comments, as set forth below, in one place are also made in other applicable places of the prospectus contained in the Amendment.

 

Amendment No. 3 to Registration Statement on Form S-1

 

Prospectus Summary

The Fund’s Current Net Assets and Year to Date Performance, page 1

 

1.According to your website, the total net assets and number of shares outstanding of the Fund have increased since the end of 2023. Please revise to provide updated disclosure.

 

RESPONSE:

 

The prospectus contained in the Amendment (“Prospectus”) has been revised to include updated disclosure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

K&L Gates LLP

599 Lexington Avenue New York NY 10022-6030

T  +1 212 536 3900  F  +1 212 536 3901  klgates.com

 

   
 

 

The Offering

Fund Expenses, page 10

 

2.Refer to your response to comment 2. We note your revised disclosure on page 10 that "[t]he Trust may be required to indemnify the Sponsor, and the Trust and/or the Sponsor may be required to indemnify the Trustee, Marketing Agent or Administrator, under certain unusual or extraordinary circumstances" and that "[a]ny such indemnification paid by the Trust and/or Sponsor generally would cover losses incurred by an indemnified party for (1) expenses incurred by a party when rendering services to the Trust or the Sponsor, (2) expenses arising from a breach of obligations or non-compliance with laws, or (3) expenses arising out of the formation, operation or termination of the Trust." Please revise to clarify whether such expenses would be allocated by the Sponsor using a pro rata methodology that allocates certain Trust expenses to the Fund and each other series of the Trust in existence at the occurrence of any such expense according to the relative net asset values of the Fund and each other series of the Trust or whether these expenses would be paid by the Fund as we note that "[t]he Fund pays all of its non-recurring and unusual fees and expenses, if any, as determined by the Sponsor."

 

RESPONSE:

 

The Prospectus has been revised to clarify, as suggested, that such expenses would be allocated by the Sponsor using a pro rata methodology that allocates certain Trust expenses to the Fund and each other series of the Trust in existence at the occurrence of any such expense according to the relative net asset values of the Fund and each other series of the Trust.

 

3.Refer to your response to comment 3. Please expand your disclosure on page 10 to clarify that, pursuant to the Fund's agreement with the Cash Custodian, the Trust is obligated to indemnify the Cash Custodian, and that, pursuant to the Fund's Sub-Administration Agreement, the Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement and the Fund Accounting Agreement with Global Fund Services, the Trust is required to indemnify Global Fund Services. In this regard, we note that your disclosure on page 10 states that "[t]he Trust may be required to indemnify the Sponsor, and the Trust and/or the Sponsor may be required to indemnify the Trustee, Marketing Agent or Administrator, under certain unusual or extraordinary circumstances.

 

RESPONSE:

 

The suggested clarifications have been added where appropriate in the Prospectus.

 

Operation of the Fund

Calculating NAV

The Futures-Based Spot Price for bitcoin, page 83

 

4.Refer to your response to comment 4. We note your revised disclosure on pages 10 and 83 that "[i]n the event both the FBSP and the NQBTCS are unavailable, the Sponsor will fair value the Fund’s bitcoin based on the CME published settlement prices." We note that the FBSP calculation appears to utilize the CME published settlement prices. Please revise your disclosure to clarify the difference between the FBSP calculation and the use of the CME published settlement prices in the event that both the FBSP and NQBTCS are unavailable by describing how the Fund's bitcoin is calculated using the CME published settlement prices in the event that both the FBSP and NQBTCS are unavailable. In addition, please describe the criteria the Sponsor will use to determine that the FBSP calculation should not be used to value the Fund's bitcoin

 

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RESPONSE:

 

The suggested revisions have been made where appropriate in the Prospectus.

 

 

*    *    *    *

 

 

The Registrant and the Sponsor acknowledge that they are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review, comments, action or absence of action by the Staff.

Please be advised that we are also providing to the Staff the materials listed below in supplement to this correspondence:

 

A comment letter dated February 9, 2024, from the National Futures Association (“NFA”) regarding the Registration Statement (the “NFA Comment Letter”).

We will be separately submitting a response letter dated February 20, 2024, from my partner, Cheryl Isaac, on behalf of the Registrant and the Sponsor responding to the NFA Comment Letter. Please be advised that in addition to the changes to the Prospectus prompted by the Staff’s comments, other changes have been made to the Prospectus in response to the NFA Comment Letter.

 

If you have any questions regarding the matters discussed above, please do not hesitate to contact me at (212) 536-3988, or in my absence, Brian Doyle-Wenger at (615) 780-6718.

 

  Sincerely,  
     
  /s/ Peter J. Shea  
     
  Peter J. Shea  

 

cc: Ms. Sandra Hunter Berkheimer, Division of Corporation Finance
  Mr. Justin Dobbie, Division of Corporation Finance
  Ms. Sonia Bednarowski, Division of Corporation Finance
  Ms. Michelle Miller, Division of Corporation Finance
  Ms. Kate Tillan, Division of Corporation Finance
  Mr. Guillermo Trias, Tidal Financial Group
  Mr. Daniel Carlson, Tidal Financial Group
  Mr. Michael Pellegrino, Tidal Financial Group
  Mr. Brian Doyle-Wenger, K&L Gates LLP

 

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Exhibit A

 

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