CME Group and CF Benchmarks to launch 3 new DeFi indices

CME derivatives marketplace and cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks announced they will introduce this month reference rates and real-time indices for AAVE, curve (CRV), and Aynthetix (SNX), they said on Dec. 1. Initially, pricing will come from a group of six crypto exchanges.

The new rates will be calculated and published starting Dec. 19 and are currently not tradable futures products.

“These three new benchmarks, together with Uniswap launched earlier this year, will capture more than 40% of the total value locked in [decentralize finance] protocols on the Ethereum blockchain,” said Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group’s head of crypto products.

The launch comes amid growing interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) and associated blockchain-based projects, while cryptocurrency traders are increasingly exploring DeFi protocols, even as the industry took a recent hit after the crypto exchange FTX collapse, Vicioso told CoinDesk.

“We continue to take a cautious, careful approach to this market. Exactly how it will develop is yet to be seen,” he added.

Initially, pricing data will come from crypto exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, itBit, and LMAX Digital, with each token trading on at least two of these platforms.

Despite the ongoing bear market, CME Group has consecutively been expanding its crypto products. Recently, the company began offering options trading on its already-existing Ether (ETH) futures product ahead of the Ethereum Merge.

Meanwhile, CryptoRank released on Dec. 1 its new feature – CEX Transparency, where users can now find publicly reported reserves of centralized crypto exchanges (CEX).

As many exchanges have lately decided to increase their transparency and publish Proof-of-Reserves, CryptoRank collated all the available information in one place, allowing users not only to track but also to analyze exchanges’ reserves.