Latest word from the traditional finance heavyweight duo: As of mid-January 2026, Nasdaq and CME Group announced they're taking their cryptocurrency indexing game to the next level. The partnership marks a significant consolidation in how mainstream financial infrastructure handles crypto market data.

To give you some context—Nasdaq's original Crypto Index (NCI), which debuted back in 2021, has been a fixture in tracking digital asset performance for institutional players. Now with CME stepping up the collaboration, both platforms are unifying their indexing methodologies and rolling out a rebranded product suite.

What does this mean? Cleaner market signals, better data harmonization across major trading venues, and one less fragmentation point for institutions trying to navigate crypto markets. Whether you're watching Bitcoin, Ethereum, or the broader altcoin space, these benchmarks directly feed into pricing models and derivatives valuations. This kind of infrastructure upgrade doesn't make headlines, but it quietly shapes how billions flow through the space.