Nasdaq and CME Unveil Unified Crypto Market Index
Nasdaq and CME Group have combined their crypto indexing efforts into a single institutional-grade benchmark aimed at supporting diversified, regulated crypto investment products.
Nasdaq and CME Group are deepening their long-standing partnership by unifying their crypto indexing initiatives under a single benchmark, reintroducing the Nasdaq Crypto Index as the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index. The move reflects growing institutional demand for regulated, diversified crypto exposure as digital assets increasingly intersect with traditional financial markets.
The new benchmark is positioned as a foundational reference point for investors seeking exposure beyond single-asset strategies such as Bitcoin-only products. Both firms say the index is designed to meet traditional market standards for governance, transparency, and risk management, aligning crypto benchmarks more closely with those used in equities, commodities, and other established asset classes.
A Strategic Shift Toward Diversified Crypto Exposure
Unlike earlier benchmarks that focused primarily on Bitcoin, the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index tracks a basket of major digital assets, including:
- Bitcoin
- Ether
- XRP
- Solana
- Chainlink
- Cardano
- Avalanche
Nasdaq said the composition reflects the broader crypto market and mirrors how investors typically approach diversified exposure in other asset classes. As the digital asset ecosystem expands, market participants are increasingly seeking benchmarks that capture sector-wide trends rather than relying on a single dominant asset.
Sean Wasserman, Head of Index Product Management at Nasdaq, said this evolution reflects changing investor behavior as crypto markets mature.
“We see the index-based approach as the direction investors are heading, beyond just Bitcoin,” Wasserman said, noting parallels with the development of equity and commodity markets.
Index-based exposure, he added, offers a familiar framework for investors navigating a rapidly growing and increasingly complex crypto landscape.
“Not Just a Name Change”
CME Group executives emphasized that the initiative goes beyond rebranding. Giovanni Vicioso, Executive Director of Equity and Alternative Products at CME Group, described the benchmark as the convergence of two established standards.
“This is not just a name change,” Vicioso said. “It is the combination of two gold standards to deliver the regulated diversification and foundational building block the market now demands.”
According to CME, the goal is to provide institutional-grade governance and diversification comparable to benchmarks used across traditional financial markets. This approach is increasingly important as regulators, asset managers, and professional investors scrutinize crypto products with the same rigor applied to other asset classes.
Governance, Transparency, and Institutional Design
Governance and transparency sit at the core of the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index. The benchmark is calculated by CF Benchmarks and overseen by a joint governance committee formed by Nasdaq and CME Group.
Key structural features include:
- Published eligibility rules for constituent assets
- Liquidity and market quality thresholds
- Quarterly rebalancing based on a transparent methodology
- Independent calculation and oversight
Executives said this framework is designed to align with institutional risk, compliance, and reporting standards, making the index suitable for regulated financial products. The structure mirrors the governance models used for established equity and commodity benchmarks, helping bridge the gap between crypto markets and traditional finance.
Built on a Decades-Long Partnership
The launch builds on a collaboration between Nasdaq and CME Group that spans nearly 30 years. The partnership began in the 1990s with the introduction of Nasdaq-100 futures and later evolved into one of the world’s most liquid equity index derivatives ecosystems.
Earlier this year, the two firms extended their Nasdaq-100 licensing agreement for another decade, signaling continued strategic alignment. The expansion into crypto benchmarks follows a similar trajectory, leveraging both firms’ expertise in market infrastructure, derivatives, and index governance.
By unifying their crypto indexing efforts, Nasdaq and CME are positioning themselves at the center of the institutional crypto market as demand grows for standardized benchmarks.
Foundation for ETFs and Structured Products
Beyond serving as a reference index, the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index is expected to underpin a broader range of regulated investment products, including:
- Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
- Structured investment vehicles
- Other index-linked financial products
Nasdaq said the index already supports licensed products across the United States, Europe, and Latin America, representing more than $1 billion in assets. The unified benchmark is expected to streamline product development and provide consistency across jurisdictions as regulators continue to define frameworks for crypto investment vehicles.
The move comes as asset managers increasingly look to multi-asset crypto products that resemble traditional portfolio construction rather than single-token exposure.
CME Group’s Expanding Crypto and Derivatives Footprint
The benchmark launch coincides with strong momentum across CME Group’s broader derivatives business. In 2025, CME Group reported its highest trading activity on record, with average daily volume reaching 28.1 million contracts, up 6% year over year.
Growth was broad-based, spanning:
- Interest rates
- Equities
- Commodities
- Foreign exchange
- Crypto derivatives
Trading activity accelerated toward the end of the year, with fourth-quarter average daily volume climbing to 27.4 million contracts, and December posting the strongest performance in the company’s history.
CME said increased use of hedging tools amid shifting interest rate expectations, commodity price volatility, and continued growth in crypto derivatives fueled the surge. The expanding crypto index offering fits squarely within this trend, providing new infrastructure for risk management and product innovation.
Crypto Markets Converge With Traditional Assets
The unified benchmark also reflects a broader industry shift toward integrating traditional assets into crypto-native infrastructure. Recently, Binance launched regulated gold and silver perpetual futures settled in USDT, signaling rising demand for tokenized exposure to safe-haven assets.
This trend aligns with the growing focus on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, where blockchain technology is increasingly used to provide access to equities, commodities, and other off-chain assets. Benchmarks like the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index play a critical role in this evolution by offering trusted reference points that regulators and institutions can rely on.
As crypto markets mature, standardized benchmarks are becoming essential for product development, risk assessment, and regulatory oversight.
By unifying their crypto index strategies, Nasdaq and CME Group are signaling that digital assets are moving deeper into the institutional mainstream. The Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index is positioned not just as a market gauge, but as core financial infrastructure, reinforcing the idea that crypto is increasingly being measured, managed, and invested in like any other major asset class.
