CME Group made two multi-asset cryptocurrency benchmarks live on Monday, adding a broad market gauge and a separate index aimed at large crypto assets outside Bitcoin and Ether.
Two new index families go live
The more distinct of the pair is the CME CF Emerging Crypto Index. It excludes Bitcoin and Ether and tracks 10 assets: BNB, XRP, SOL, HYPE, LINK, Lumens, SUI, UNI, AVAX and AAVE.
The companion CME CF Crypto Market Index holds those same 10 assets plus Bitcoin and Ether, bringing the total to 12 qualifying assets, according to CME’s index FAQ.
CME said each real-time version is calculated every second, 24 hours a day. Settlement variants are calculated once a day and published at 4 p.m. in London, New York and Singapore/Hong Kong.
How the ex-BTC, ex-ETH index is built
The Emerging Crypto Index is meant to capture the 10 largest qualifying assets outside Bitcoin and Ether. It uses free-float market-cap weighting, which means assets with a larger market value of tokens available for trading carry more influence in the index. It is reconstituted and rebalanced semiannually on the first business day of June and December.
The broader CME CF Crypto Market Index targets 12 qualifying assets, with Bitcoin and Ether remaining eligible. It uses the same free-float market-cap approach and follows the same semiannual review schedule.
Methodology includes custody access and usage screens
The methodology for the Emerging Crypto Index requires access to custody, excludes meme coins, and applies a protocol-usage screen based on total value locked relative to full market capitalization.
At inception, assets that do not yet qualify under U.S. national stock exchange generic listing standards for crypto exchange-traded products can still enter if they are expected to comply within 30 days. Their combined weight is capped at 10%. At later scheduled reviews, constituents must meet the prevailing standards, according to the methodology.
Built with financial products in mind
The methodology says the Emerging Crypto Index was designed to be investible and suitable for passive replication in funds and for the settlement of derivatives.
CME has already used a similar product route. In June, the exchange launched Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures. Those contracts are financially settled to the Nasdaq CME Crypto Settlement Price Index, which tracks a separate basket of large and actively traded cryptocurrencies.
CME’s FAQ lists real-time values calculated every second and three regional settlement variants for each of the two new index families. CF Benchmarks says the Emerging Crypto Index can be licensed for a financial product, investment fund or derivative instrument. The product page for the broad market index offers the same licensing option.