In this week’s roundup, we look at new launches of crypto products including AMCs, leveraged products and ETFs, the expansion of partnership between Cboe and FTSE Russell, and the successful funding round of Arbelos Markets.

STOXX has licensed the STOXX Digital Asset Blue Chip Index to the Zurich-based Swiss private bank, Maerki Baumann & Co. Ltd. The index will serve as an underlying for the ARCHIP Crypto Certificate and Crypto Focus Module that are actively managed by the private bank.

The transparency in the valuation methodology strengthens the trust in our crypto investment solutions - Konstantinos Ntefeloudis, Maerki Baumann

'Investment strategies are evolving, with a noticeable embrace of digital assets as investors seek to broaden their portfolios with alternative asset classes,' said Axel Lomholt, general manager at STOXX.

The index which was co-developed with crypto-financial services provider Bitcoin Suisse tracks a basket of assets, utilizing crypto-native metrics to select those which serve as a high-class reflection of the current crypto universe. Assets are initially derived from the Bitcoin Suisse Index Reference Classification List (xRCL).

Selection is then based on a multi-step procedure which seeks to identify the strongest and most representative assets in each sector, as defined by the Bitcoin Suisse Global Crypto Taxonomy (GCT). A 30% cap limits exposure to typically dominant tokens such as ethereum or bitcoin.

'The transparency in the valuation methodology strengthens the trust in our crypto investment solutions,' said Konstantinos Ntefeloudis (pictured), head of investment management, Maerki Baumann.

“The STOXX Digital Asset Blue Chip Index sets a new standard for high-quality digital asset investments, focusing on adoption, security, community, and innovation, not just market cap,' said Chris Zulliger, head investment & advice at Bitcoin Suisse.

Cboe, FTSE Russell expand collaboration on crypto derivatives

Cboe Global Markets is expanding its collaboration with FTSE Russell 'to drive product innovation in the digital assets space'.

This new initiative builds on Cboe and FTSE Russell's relationship and is aimed at combining their respective expertise to develop new derivatives products, potentially beginning with cash-settled index options tied to the FTSE Bitcoin Index and the FTSE Ethereum Index.

Cboe plans to list cash-settled index options on FTSE's indices, subject to regulatory approvals, to meet growing investor demand for exchange-traded derivatives.

The FTSE Bitcoin Index and FTSE Ethereum Index are part of the FTSE Digital Asset Indices Series, which is developed in partnership with Digital Asset Research (DAR). These indices are designed to capture the performance of bitcoin and ether, as determined by the FTSE DAR Reference Price, and provide institutional-quality, liquidity-screened exposure to the digital asset market.

Cboe's expanded collaboration with FTSE Russell follows the recent realignment of its digital assets business – a move that will consolidate all Cboe US futures products, including digital asset futures, onto one exchange, subject to regulatory review, powered by Cboe's broader global derivatives franchise and technology platform.

Furthermore, the collaboration is expected to introduce new products that will complement Cboe's existing digital assets initiatives such as cash-settled bitcoin and ether margin futures, along with spot bitcoin ETFs.

First bitcoin ETF goes live on Australia’s ASX

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listed the VanEck Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Thursday (20 June), making it the first Bitcoin ETF present in the country’s largest stock market.

The VanEck Bitcoin ETF operates as a feeder fund employing a passive management strategy, according to the product disclosure document. The fund, under the ticker VBTC, provides investors exposure to Bitcoin by investing in the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, which is a US ETF listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange.

The US asset manager VanEck stated in a blog that it had been 'engaged with bringing a spot bitcoin ETF to ASX' since early 2021. In February 2024, the company resubmitted its Bitcoin ETF application to the exchange, led by CEO and managing director Helen Lofthouse (right).

VanEck’s ETF closed the day at AU$20.06 (US$13.74) on its first trading day. Its management fee is 0.59%.

With the latest ETF listing, the issuer VanEck said its European arm currently manages 12 cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs).

The listing also came after Australia-based Monochrome Asset Management listed the country’s first Bitcoin ETF on the Cboe Australia exchange, a smaller Australian exchange, earlier this month. The asset manager said the product was the first and only ETF that holds Bitcoin directly in Australia.

Australia joined the Bitcoin ETF wave seen in the US where the first spot Bitcoin ETF went live in January and a similar one for Hong Kong in April.

Index Coop launches automated leverage products on Arbitrum

Now pivoting to the decentralised finance (DeFi) space. Index Coop, a decentralized autonomous organization and on-chain structured products provider, has debuted the first Arbitrum-native automated leverage products.

Six new leverage tokens are available on Arbitrum, a layer 2 scaling platform on top of the Ethereum network: Inverse Ethereum Index (iETH1x), Ethereum 2x Leverage Index (ETH2x), Ethereum 3x Leverage Index (ETH3x), Inverse Bitcoin Index (iBTC1x), Bitcoin 2x Leverage Index (BTC2x), and Bitcoin 3x Leverage Index (BTC3x).

The latest development came after its previous launches of the two leverage tokens on the Ethereum network, including the Ethereum 2x Leverage Index and Bitcoin 2x Leverage Index, according to its blog.

The DAO said these leverage products consist of ‘fully collateralised’ cryptocurrency tokens that allow exposure to Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) by tracking target leverage ratios and automatically rebalancing as prices change.

‘As the target leverage ratios imply, users can expect tokens to perform proportionally against the underlying asset. For example: If the price of ETH increases by 10%, a 3x Long ETH token would increase in value by 30%, a 2x Long ETH token by 20%, and a -1x Inverse token would fall by 10%. These percentage changes correspond to the leverage factor of each token,’ its blog read.

Volatility drift, or the tendency of leverage products to lose value over time compared to their benchmark, can contribute to leverage tokens underperforming relative to user expectations, it warned.

Arbelos Markets raises US$28m led by Dragonfly Capital

Arbelos Markets, a crypto liquidity provider founded last year by digital asset derivatives veterans Joshua Lim (right) and Shiliang Tang, has raised US$28m in a seed funding and debt financing round led by Dragonfly Capital, according to the company’s announcement.

Investment firms Room40 Ventures, Selini Capital and Breed VC, corporate partners FalconX, Circle Ventures, Paxos, P2 Ventures (formerly Polygon Ventures), Deribit, Chorus One, StarkWare and Immutable, and angel investors at Aevo, Cega, Talos, Amberdata, and Framework also participated in the ‘significantly oversubscribed’ round, the company said.

With the latest funds, the company said it plans to use to further improve its ‘quant trading infrastructure, hire top talent, and expand its access to new markets and its range of products.’

The company was founded last year. Following its first six months of operation, Arbelos Markets as a liquidity provider in options block liquidity processed a total derivatives trading volume of over US$25 billion notional across bilateral, on-exchange, and on-chain order book and request for quote (RFQ) channels, the company said.

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