Nasdaq and CME Rebrand Joint Crypto Index to Expand Exposure

TheNewsCryptoPublished on 2026-01-10Last updated on 2026-01-10

Abstract

Nasdaq and CME Group have rebranded their joint crypto index to the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index, deepening their long-standing collaboration. The updated index serves as a benchmark for investors seeking diversified exposure beyond single-asset crypto strategies, reflecting growing regulatory clarity and institutional participation. It tracks multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, Chainlink, Cardano, and Avalanche, representing a broader market view rather than a Bitcoin-centric approach. The index emphasizes governance, transparency, and institutional risk compliance, with eligibility rules, liquidity thresholds, and quarterly rebalancing. This initiative builds on the decades-long partnership between Nasdaq and CME, which began with Nasdaq-100 futures in the 1990s.

Nasdaq and CME Group have collaborated on their crypto indexing efforts under the same roof, renewing the Nasdaq Crypto Index as the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index. The step has helped in deepening the collaboration between the two market infrastructure providers that dates back around three decades, as per Nasdaq.

The revised index is made to act as the base benchmark for investors looking for exposure beyond single-asset crypto strategies, as regulatory clarity and institutional participation continuously expand.

The executive director of equity and alternative products at CME Group, Giovanni, revealed that this is not only a name change. He further explained that the index is an amalgamation of two established market standards targeting the delivery of governance and diversification as compared to the traditional asset classes.

The Further Update

The Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index keeps track of the majority of virtual assets, adding BTC, Ether, XRP, Solana, Chainlink, Cardano and Avalanche. Nasdaq further revealed that the index is made to show the wider crypto market instead of concentrating completely on Bitcoin, a shift that shows how investors approach equities and other asset classes.

The head of index product management at Nasdaq, Sean Wasserman, revealed investors are growing towards index-based exposure as the crypto market seems more complex. He also said that we witness the index-based approach as the direction investors are moving, beyond only BTC.

Governance and transparency are at the core of the index’s structure. The benchmark is an estimation of CF Benchmarks and overlooked by a joint governance committee, having eligibility rules, liquidity thresholds, and quarterly rebalancing highlighted in a published methodology.

The officials stated this substructure is made to line up with institutional risk and compliance anticipations. The rollout also builds on Nasdaq and CME Group’s long history of partnership, which started with Nasdaq-100 futures in the 1990s and later widened into one of the world’s most liquid equity index derivatives ecosystems.

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