Nasdaq and CME Group have officially relaunched their joint digital asset benchmark under the name Nasdaq CME Crypto Index (NCI), consolidating a long-standing partnership and reinforcing efforts to standardize crypto pricing within regulated investment frameworks.
Rather than introducing a new product from scratch, the relaunch represents an evolution of existing infrastructure. The index builds on decades of collaboration between Nasdaq and CME Group, a relationship that began in the 1990s with equity index derivatives and later expanded into some of the most liquid futures markets globally.
Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s executive director of equity and alternative products, described the move as more than a rebrand, framing it as the alignment of “two gold standards” to meet growing demand for regulated diversification in crypto markets. The emphasis, however, is on infrastructure rather than immediate market impact.
From Nasdaq’s perspective, the timing reflects a shift in institutional behavior. Sean Wasserman, head of index product management at Nasdaq, pointed to increasing regulatory clarity, particularly in the United States, as a key factor enabling index-based crypto strategies similar to those long used in equities and commodities.
Governance and methodology sit at the core of the index’s design. The Nasdaq CME Crypto Index is calculated by CF Benchmarks and overseen by a joint governance committee responsible for exchange eligibility, liquidity thresholds and rebalancing rules. Nasdaq publishes detailed methodology documentation, including weighting criteria and a quarterly reconstitution schedule.
The index already underpins more than $1 billion in assets through products licensed by Hashdex across multiple regions, including the NCIQ ETF, the first multi-crypto index exchange-traded fund approved in the U.S. market.
The relaunch does not materially change short-term market dynamics, but reinforces the longer-term normalization of crypto as an institutional asset class. Its relevance lies in providing a consistent, regulated reference that allows digital assets to be integrated alongside traditional investments within established portfolio frameworks.