Nasdaq and CME Unite Crypto Benchmarks Under New Index

Nasdaq and CME Group are reshaping how institutional investors track the crypto market by merging their benchmark efforts into a single product.

The two exchanges have unified their crypto indexes under a new name – the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index – signaling a push toward broader, index-based exposure rather than single-asset focus.

The newly branded index builds on the former Nasdaq Crypto Index and now represents a diversified basket of major digital assets. According to Nasdaq, the benchmark currently includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Chainlink, Cardano, and Avalanche – assets that together aim to reflect the core of the investable crypto market.

Rather than treating crypto as a Bitcoin-only trade, Nasdaq sees investor behavior evolving in a familiar direction. Sean Wasserman, who oversees index product management at Nasdaq, said investors are increasingly gravitating toward diversified benchmarks, mirroring how traditional asset classes matured through broad market indexes instead of isolated securities.

Why Indexes Are Gaining Ground in Crypto

The timing is not accidental. Institutional interest in digital assets is accelerating, while the underlying market is becoming harder to navigate. With tens of millions of tokens now listed globally and new ones appearing daily, picking individual winners has become impractical for many investors.

This complexity is pushing demand toward crypto index products, particularly exchange-traded funds that track baskets of assets. Will Peck, head of digital assets at WisdomTree, argues that index-based vehicles lower the barrier to entry by removing the need for constant technical and fundamental analysis across multiple blockchain sectors.

Instead of betting on a single protocol, investors can gain measured exposure to the broader crypto ecosystem through a single instrument – a model that has long dominated equity and bond markets.

Institutions Prepare for the Next Phase

The view is shared across the asset management industry. Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, has said that crypto index products are among the areas he expects to see the most growth in 2026. In his view, demand will largely come from investors seeking small, passive allocations rather than active trading strategies.

The Nasdaq-CME collaboration fits neatly into that trajectory. By combining Nasdaq’s index expertise with CME’s derivatives and institutional reach, the new benchmark positions itself as a reference point for future crypto investment products – from ETFs to structured instruments.

Taken together, the rebranding is less about a name change and more about signaling where the market is headed. As crypto grows more complex and more institutionalized, diversified indexes – not individual tokens – are increasingly becoming the preferred gateway for mainstream capital.

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