- Nasdaq Stock Exchange and CME Group unified their crypto indexes, renaming the Nasdaq Crypto Index to the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index.
- The benchmark index covers Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), ChainLink (LINK), Cardano (ADA) and Avalanche (AVAX).
- “We see the index-based approach as the direction investors are heading, beyond just Bitcoin…” — rationale cited in the announcement.
- Asset managers say crypto index products and ETFs will attract passive investors amid rising token complexity.
- Data shows an expanding token universe, with 29.66 million entries tracked on CoinMarketCap at the time of writing.
Nasdaq Stock Exchange and CME Group announced Friday that they have merged their crypto index efforts, rebranding the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI) as the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index, to create a unified benchmark for multi-asset crypto exposure, according to the announcement.
Spokespersons for Nasdaq confirmed the NCI benchmark includes Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Chainlink (LINK), Cardano (ADA) and Avalanche (AVAX). The NCI price was available at the time of writing on Yahoo Finance.
Sean Wasserman, head of index product management at Nasdaq, described the move as a response to investor demand for broader, index-based crypto exposure, saying: “We see the index-based approach as the direction investors are heading, beyond just Bitcoin. That’s similar to what we’ve seen in other asset classes, where you have indexes that are representative of the broader market.” The quote appears in the same announcement.
The change comes as traditional financial firms expand into digital assets and infrastructure, including plans such as a plan for Morgan Stanley to launch a digital asset wallet.
Industry professionals say crypto index ETFs will ease entry for passive investors who cannot track a rapidly growing token market. Will Peck, head of digital assets at WisdomTree, and other managers point to index products as a next wave of adoption.
Market data shows token counts continue to explode; CoinMarketCap listed 29.66 million cryptocurrencies at the time of writing. Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, said he is “most excited” for the growth of crypto index products in 2026 in a December note.
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