Nasdaq, CME to launch integrated crypto index…official rollout on the 20th

Nasdaq and CME Group have joined forces to introduce a new digital-asset (cryptocurrency) benchmark index for institutional investors.

On the 8th (local time), Nasdaq and CME Group announced they will rebrand the existing “Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI)” as the “Nasdaq CME Crypto Index (Nasdaq CME Crypto Index·NCI)” and deepen their partnership. The new index name will take effect officially from the 20th.

The two firms stressed that the collaboration goes beyond a simple name change, amounting to a consolidation of market standards. Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Equity and Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, said, “This is not just a name change,” adding that “two standards have come together to lay the groundwork for the regulatory compliance and portfolio diversification the market demands.”

Sean Wasserman, Head of Index Product Management at Nasdaq (CFA), said, “As regulatory clarity around digital assets is taking shape—particularly in the United States—the door has opened for institutions to adopt trusted, regulated investment solutions,” adding, “Where the early market was concentrated in specific assets such as Bitcoin, it is now evolving toward index-based strategies that track the broader market.”

He added, “Investors now want an index-based approach that goes beyond Bitcoin,” noting that “this mirrors the trajectory in other asset classes such as equities, where indexes have become established as benchmarks representing the overall market.”