CME Group Launches Two New Crypto Market Indices: What Changes from August 2026

Starting from August 31, 2026, shortly after 10 AM London time, the crypto market will have two new benchmarks to measure the performance of the most traded digital assets. CME Group will launch two new crypto market indices, the CME CF Crypto Market Index and the CME CF Emerging Crypto Index, designed to provide a reliable gauge of the performance of the most investable cryptocurrencies globally. This move comes at a time when interest in digital asset tracking tools has significantly increased, driven by the political and regulatory debate in the United States regarding the role of crypto in the economy.

Summary

• Key Points
• CME Group announces new market indices for crypto
  • Launch schedule and availability
  • Details of the two new indices
• Calculation method and real-time data features
  • Composition and weighting of the indices
  • Real-time updates and data channels
• Global settlement times and usage restrictions
  • Daily settlement publication in major time zones
  • Restrictions on use for contract settlement
• FAQ
  • What are the new crypto indices from CME Group?
  • When will the new indices be launched and when can they be tested?
  • How frequently are the indices updated and how is price data distributed?
  • Will these indices be used to settle contracts?

Key Points

• CME Group will launch the CME CF Crypto Market Index and the CME CF Emerging Crypto Index on August 31, 2026, shortly after 10 AM London time.
• The indices will be weighted by free-float market capitalization and will track the largest investable digital assets.
• Data will be distributed via the CME CF Cryptocurrency Pricing Market Data feed on channels 213 and 214.
• Real-time updates will occur approximately once per second, with daily settlements published after 4 PM in London, New York, and the APAC region.
• The indices will not be used for the settlement of any contracts and will be available for testing from August 24, 2026.

CME Group Announces New Market Indices for Crypto

CME Group has set the debut date for its new crypto market indices for August 31, 2026, with activation shortly after 10 AM London time. This choice marks a further step in expanding the exchange's offering of data and tools related to cryptocurrencies, which has progressively broadened its catalog of products linked to digital assets in recent years.

Launch Schedule and Availability

Before the official debut, operators will be able to test the new tools. Starting from Monday, August 24, 2026, the two indices will be available for testing in the New Release environment, allowing exchanges, brokers, and data platforms to adapt their systems before the actual launch scheduled a week later.

Details of the Two New Indices

The CME CF Crypto Market Index and the CME CF Emerging Crypto Index are created with complementary objectives: the former aims to capture the overall performance of the more established crypto market, while the latter focuses on a basket of emerging digital assets. Both share the same construction philosophy, designed to provide a coherent and comparable reading of the sector's performance.

Calculation Method and Characteristics of Real-Time Data

The indices are constructed using a market capitalization weighted approach with free float, a criterion that favors the most liquid digital assets that are actually available to investors, excluding non-tradable shares in the market.

Composition and Weighting of the Indices

This weighting method allows for tracking the performance of the largest investable digital assets, avoiding distortions related to tokens with reduced float or low actual liquidity. This is an established approach in the construction of traditional stock indices, now applied to the crypto world to ensure greater representativeness.

Real-Time Updates and Data Channels

The distribution of cryptocurrency price data will go through the CME CF Cryptocurrency Pricing Market Data feed, conveyed on channels 213 and 214. The real-time versions of the indices, identified by the codes CRYPTORT for the Crypto Market Index and ECIRT for the Emerging Crypto Index, will be published daily with an update frequency of about once per second. This level of granularity positions the new real-time crypto indices among the most responsive tools available in the market for tracking digital assets.

Global Settlement Times and Usage Limitations

The daily settlements of the two indices will follow three reference time zones, covering the entire global trading day without interruptions even on holidays.

Publication of Daily Settlement in Major Time Zones

The schedule provides for the publication of settlements shortly after 16:00 London time, with the codes CRYPTORR and ECIRR respectively for the Crypto Market Index and the Emerging Crypto Index. This is followed by the New York session, also shortly after 16:00 Eastern time, identified by the codes CRYPTONY and ECINY. The daily cycle is closed by the settlement for the APAC area, published shortly after 16:00 Hong Kong/Singapore time with the codes CRYPTOAP and ECIAP. All these publications also occur on weekends and bank holidays, ensuring continuity of data on a daily basis.

Restrictions on Use for Contract Settlement

A detail worth noting concerns the intended use of these tools: the indices will not be used for the settlement of any contracts. They are therefore informational benchmarks, designed for tracking and analyzing market performance, not to serve as a reference in the regulations of derivative products listed on CME.

This distinction matters because it immediately clarifies the scope of use of the new indices: they are not the tool on which futures or options payments will be based, but rather an independent data source for those who want to measure the performance of the crypto sector with a transparent and nearly real-time method. For institutional investors closely following digital asset tracking, the availability of a CME CF Crypto Market index with updates every second and settlements across three time zones represents an additional piece in the data infrastructure available, at a time when the integration between traditional finance and digital markets continues to deepen.

FAQ

What are the new crypto indices from CME Group?

CME Group will launch two indices: the CME CF Crypto Market Index and the CME CF Emerging Crypto Index, which track the largest investable digital assets in the market.

When will the new indices be launched and when will they be available for testing?

The launch is scheduled for August 31, 2026, shortly after 10 AM London time, while the testing phase will be available starting August 24, 2026.

How often are the indices updated and how is price data distributed?

The real-time indices are updated approximately once per second, and price data is available through the CME CF Cryptocurrency Pricing Market Data feed on channels 213 and 214.

Will these indices be used to settle contracts?

No, the indices will not be used for the settlement of any contracts.