“We strongly believe that institutional investors coming into the crypto-asset market will seek out solutions that allow them to operate efficiently, reduce risk, and that help ensure their regulatory compliance in other markets,” said TradeBlock CEO Breanne Madigan. “This collaboration brings a tool common in futures and equities markets to crypto markets and is expected to improve institutional participation in the asset class. We believe that TradeBlock and ErisX enabling clearing of over-the-counter trades will make OTC crypto transactions more efficient, with lower risk, bringing the same level of automation as other mature markets.”

Historically, according to research conducted at TradeBlock, the settlement period for an OTC crypto transaction could often take more than two days. The lengthy process may result in unpredictable slippage, delivery, and counterparty risk following a trade. This creates hurdles that discourage investors who are used to the Straight-Through Processing of equities and futures markets. By joining forces with ErisX, TradeBlock will provide tools to better manage these risks and improve trading workflows by bringing more certainty to the settlement process.

“As crypto markets continue to mature, it’s reasonable for investors to expect the same convenience and functionality available in virtually all asset classes, including crypto,” said ErisX President, John Palmer. “Our regulated clearing solution combined with TradeBlock’s institutional-grade platform is a solid combination to facilitate this transition and help drive adoption of digital currencies as an investment.”

ErisX and TradeBlock previously collaborated to offer ErisX spot market data on the TradeBlock markets page, available here.

About TradeBlock

TradeBlock offers the premiere platform for institutional digital currency traders, complete with a powerful suite of market and blockchain data, as well as execution and post-trade tools for liquidity providers, asset managers, corporate clients, and exchanges, among others. For more information on TradeBlock, please visit us at https://tradeblock.com or email us at contact@tradeblock.com.

About ErisX

ErisX offers individuals and institutions a single, innovative platform to access crypto spot and futures markets. By combining professional tools, advanced technology, sophisticated regulatory oversight, and a diverse product set, ErisX offers capital markets friendly workflows to digital market participants. Backed by some of the world’s largest trading firms and financial institutions, ErisX brings transparency and reliability to the digital asset class. ErisX, Eris Exchange, and the ErisX and Eris Exchange logos are trademarks of the Eris Exchange group of companies or its affiliates.

ErisX Futures are offered through Eris Exchange, LLC, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) registered Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Eris Clearing, LLC, a registered Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). The CFTC does not have regulatory oversight authority over virtual currency products including spot market trading of virtual currencies. ErisX Spot Market is not licensed, approved or registered with the CFTC and transactions on the ErisX Spot Market are not subject to CFTC rules, regulations or regulatory oversight. ErisX Spot Market may be subject to certain state licensing requirements and operates in NY pursuant to Eris Clearing’s license to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The post ErisX Clearing Functionality Now Available on TradeBlock appeared first on TradeBlock.

Based on this review, the following modifications will be implemented at 4PM Eastern Time on July 5, 2022.

Modifications to the reference rates have no impact on XBX or the other CoinDesk Single Digital Asset indices.

To view all indices, visit CoinDesk Indices. For additional inquiries, please email info@coindesk-indices.com.

The post CoinDesk Indices Announces Changes to its Reference Rate Contributing Exchanges appeared first on TradeBlock.

• Original Implementation Date: Saturday, April 23, 2022
• Revised Implementation Date: Saturday, April 30, 2022

CoinDesk Indices has completed its quarterly review of the CoinDesk Digital Asset Price Indices, including XBX, for potential changes to the contributing exchanges used to price the Indices.

Based on this review, the following modifications will be implemented over a 24-hour period beginning at 4PM NY time on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

To view all indices, visit CoinDesk Indices. For additional inquiries, please email info@coindesk-indices.com.

The post CoinDesk Single Digital Asset Indices Q2 2022 Exchange Review Announcement: Revised Implementation Date appeared first on TradeBlock.

Based on this review, the following modifications will be implemented over a 24-hour period beginning at 4PM NY time on Saturday, April 23, 2022.

To view all indices, visit CoinDesk Indices. For additional inquiries, please email info@coindesk-indices.com.

The post CoinDesk Indices Announces Changes to its Single Digital Asset Price Indices appeared first on TradeBlock.

April 4, 2022: CoinDesk Indices is seeking feedback on a proposal to change the Methodology for the CoinDesk DeFi Index (“DFX”) to follow the CoinDesk Select Sector Indices Methodology. This change is designed to provide a consistent and transparent rules-based approach to managing and reconstituting CoinDesk’s Sector Indices, which are derived from the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS) and include requirements for market capitalization, liquidity, trading, and custody.

The objective of the CoinDesk Select Sector Index Methodology is to select the largest and most liquid assets from individual DACS sectors. The process to screen and select digital assets may result in fewer constituents than the DeFi methodology. Each methodology has a minimum constituent count requirement to improve diversification.

CoinDesk Indices has reviewed the DeFi and Select Sector Index Methodologies and summarized the key differences in Table 1:

Table 1: Methodology Differences

Based on data from March 16, 2022, CoinDesk Indices simulated the April 2022 reconstitution of DFX, using the DeFi Methodology and the Select Sector Indices methodology. The results are provided in Table 2.

Table 2: Summary of Proforma Constituents and Weights Comparison

*Market capitalization data sourced from CoinMarketCap.com as of 3/16/2022

Based on data from April 1, 2022, CoinDesk Indices calculated the difference in weight between the Q2 DFX constituents using Total Circulating Supply and Circulating Supply (also referred to as publicly available supply). The results are provided in Table 3.

Table 3: Constituents Weights using Total Circulating Supply vs Circulating Supply

*Data sourced from CoinMarketCap.com as of 4/1/2022

Consultation Questions:

1. Do you agree with the proposal to transition the CoinDesk Defi Index to follow the CoinDesk Select Sector Indices Methodology?

2. Do you have other suggestions that CoinDesk should consider in making its final determination?

3. If the results of this consultation lead to changes, CoinDesk would propose that these changes be implemented during the Q3 2022 rebalance, which will occur at the beginning of July. Do you agree with this timing?

All responses to this consultation should be sent to info@coindesk-indices.com. This consultation will be closed on April 22, 2022. Once closed, the Index Committee will review the feedback and announce results within 30 days.

Download this consultation in PDF format

The post CoinDesk Indices Proposes Methodology Change for the CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX) appeared first on TradeBlock.

The post CoinDesk Indices Methodologies appeared first on TradeBlock.

Based on the review, there will be no modifications to the contributing exchanges for any of the Indices listed in the table below.

List of Impacted Indices:

The post No Modifications to CoinDesk Digital Asset Price Indices appeared first on TradeBlock.

Below, please find the timeline for the January Review process as well as a list of the impacted Indices.

January 2022 Review Timeline:

List of Impacted Indices:

To view all indexes, visit CoinDesk’s Index page. For additional inquiries, please email indexes@coindesk.com.

The post CoinDesk Indices: 2022 Q1 Adjustment Timeline appeared first on TradeBlock.

Reliable Reference Rates for Digital Currencies 

Respectively, TradeBlock’s SLX and UNX Indexes are designed to track Solana and Uniswap liquidity while adjusting for any deviations caused by anomalies and manipulation attempts at individual exchanges. The index value is a live rate that is calculated once per second based on the trading activity observed at leading exchanges for those spot USD denominated markets.

The data from all exchanges is collected in real-time and immediately cleansed and validated to ensure the reliability of all contributing trades. The data from each exchange is subsequently weighted against the cohort based on their short- and long-term trading volume. The most liquid exchanges receive a higher weighting in order to maximize the replicability of the index’s rate in the live spot markets. The index also weights every exchange based on the price variance across all data points and on the trading frequency at each venue.

Inclusion of any exchange in the index is guided by IOSCO principles for financial benchmarks. More specifically, TradeBlock takes the following into consideration:

• Liquid market in the SOL/USD & UNI/USD crosses
• Trading volume that represents a minimum of total mutually exclusive SOL/USD & UNI/USD trading volumes
• Programmatic trading of the SOL/USD & UNI/USD spot prices
• Exchange API reliability
• No restrictions on deposits and/or withdrawals of SOL, UNI, or USD
• Publicly known ownership entity
• Policies compliant with applicable regulations (AML, KYC procedures)
• Discretion of its analysts

The above changes are part of TradeBlock’s quarterly index update, whereby revisions, if necessary, are made according to the firm’s Index Methodology. This update offers transparency to the ongoing commitment for maintaining CoinDesk Indexes as industry benchmarks that accurately characterize the digital currency landscape. Quarterly updates will continue to sharpen CoinDesk Indexes, which are designed to adjust for anomalistic exchange conditions and provide reliable reference rates.

To view all indexes, visit CoinDesk’s Index page. For additional inquiries, please email indexes@coindesk.com.

The post Announcing New CoinDesk Indexes: 2021 Q4 appeared first on TradeBlock.

Grayscale DeFi Fund (the Fund) provides investors with exposure to a selection of industry-leading DeFi protocols through a market-capitalization weighted portfolio designed to track the CoinDesk DeFi Index. The Grayscale DeFi Fund is Grayscale’s fifteenth investment product, and its second diversified fund offering.

“Grayscale continues to focus on creating opportunities for investors to access new, exciting parts of the digital asset ecosystem,” said Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein. “The emergence of decentralized finance protocols provide clear examples of technologies that can redefine the future of the financial services industry. We’re proud to offer investors exposure to DeFi through Grayscale’s trusted, secure, and industry-leading investment product structures.”

The CoinDesk DeFi Index (the Index) aims to provide a broad-based, benchmark representation of DeFi protocols. The Index methodology includes liquid DeFi assets on a market cap-weighted basis. Additional information on the Index methodology can be found at https://tradeblock.com/markets/dfx/.

As of July 1, 2021, the Index consisted of the following assets and weightings:

• Uniswap (UNI), 49.95%
• Aave (AAVE), 10.25%
• Compound (COMP), 8.38%
• Curve (CRV), 7.44%
• MakerDAO (MKR), 6.49%
• SushiSwap (SUSHI), 4.83%
• Synthetix (SNX), 4.43%
• Yearn Finance (YFI), 3.31%
• UMA Protocol (UMA), 2.93%
• Bancor Network Token (BNT), 2.00%

“This partnership underscores our leadership in creating institutional-grade digital currency indexes,” said Managing Director of CoinDesk Indexes Jodie Gunzberg. “With increasing attention on the innovations within decentralized finance, it’s critical for the investment community to have tools that deliver calculated exposure to this exciting area of innovation. This collaboration offers investors the data and tools they need to gain exposure to decentralized finance into their portfolios.”

The Fund is now open for daily subscription by eligible individual and institutional accredited investors.

As is the case for its other products, Grayscale intends to attempt to have shares of this new product quoted on a secondary market. However there is no guarantee this will be successful. Although the shares of certain products have been approved for trading on a secondary market, investors in this new product should not assume that the shares will ever obtain such an approval due to a variety of factors, including questions regulators such as the SEC, FINRA or other regulatory bodies may have regarding the product. As a result, shareholders of this product should be prepared to bear the risk of investment in the shares indefinitely.

This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal, nor shall there be any sale of any security in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.

About Grayscale Investments
Grayscale Investments is the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, with more than $28B in assets under management as of July 16, 2021. Through its family of investment products, Grayscale provides access and exposure to the digital currency asset class in the form of a security without the challenges of buying, storing, and safekeeping digital currencies directly. With a proven track record and unrivaled experience, Grayscale’s products operate within existing regulatory frameworks, creating secure and compliant exposure for investors. Grayscale products are distributed by Genesis Global Trading, Inc. (Member FINRA/SIPC, MSRB Registered). For more information, please visit grayscale.com and follow @Grayscale.

About CoinDesk
CoinDesk is the most influential, trusted platform for a growing global community engaged in the transformation of the financial system and the emerging crypto economy. Founded in May 2013, the CoinDesk platform provides millions of consumers interested in cryptocurrency assets and blockchain technology with news and insights, podcasts, live streaming, research reports, events, and a toolkit of indexes, data, and analytics. More than $36 billion in assets under management are benchmarked against CoinDesk Indexes, and billions of dollars in trading volume have been quoted against them in the over-the-counter market. In January 2021, CoinDesk Inc. acquired TradeBlock, the premier platform for institutional digital currency traders and the leading provider of real-time indexes for the spot price of various digital currencies. TradeBlock is a subsidiary of CoinDesk, Inc, and operates entirely independently of CoinDesk Media.

Both Grayscale and CoinDesk are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Digital Currency Group, one of the largest private investors in the industry and a provider of trading and other investment services for that industry. CoinDesk operates entirely independently of the parent company. DCG has no involvement in editorial or content decisions. Twitter: @CoinDesk

The post Grayscale Investments and CoinDesk Indexes Launch Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Fund and Index appeared first on TradeBlock.