CME Group Expands Cryptocurrency Benchmarks to 96% of Market Capitalization

CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, and CF Benchmarks, the leading provider of cryptocurrency benchmark indices, have announced plans to launch four new cryptocurrency reference rates and real-time indices. These new benchmarks will cover Arbitrum, Ondo, NEAR, and Sui, and are set to go live on June 2, 2025. The reference rates and indices are designed to provide clear and transparent pricing data to a broad range of market participants, allowing them to more accurately value portfolios or create structured products.

Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, emphasized the importance of these new benchmarks in providing reliable and trusted data to the growing cryptocurrency market. With the addition of these four new cryptocurrencies, CME Group will offer pricing benchmarks across more than 96% of the investible cryptocurrency market capitalization. This expansion is part of CME Group's ongoing effort to bring reliable and trusted data to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The new benchmarks will utilize pricing data from at least two of the current constituent exchanges for the CME CF Benchmark suite of reference rates and real-time indices. These exchanges include Bitstamp, Bullish, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gemini, itBit, Kraken, and LMAX Digital. This ensures that the benchmarks are based on a diverse and robust set of data sources, enhancing their accuracy and reliability.

Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, highlighted the need for trusted benchmarks that meet the standards of accuracy, transparency, and governance expected in traditional finance. The addition of Arbitrum, Ondo, NEAR, and Sui to the CME CF Single Asset Series ensures that market participants can engage with these emerging tokens using indices and reference rates built on the same robust methodologies as the BRR and BRRNY for Bitcoin. This expansion reflects the accelerating institutionalization of digital assets and the commitment to supporting the next wave of regulated crypto financial products.

Each of these new reference rates will provide the U.S. dollar price of each digital asset, published once-a-day at 4 p.m. London time. The respective real-time indices will be published once per second, 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Additionally, reference rates for Ondo and Sui will also be published once-a-day at 4 p.m. New York time. This frequent updating ensures that market participants have access to the most current and accurate pricing data available.

This move by CME Group and CF Benchmarks is expected to further solidify their position as leaders in providing reliable and standardized reference rates and spot price indices for the cryptocurrency market. The launch of these new benchmarks is a significant step towards increasing the transparency and reliability of cryptocurrency pricing data, which is crucial for institutional investors and market participants. By offering these new benchmarks, CME Group and CF Benchmarks are helping to build a more transparent and reliable cryptocurrency market, which is essential for its continued growth and development.