Nasdaq filed a proposed rule change with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Rule 19b-4 on June 2, 2024. Nasdaq is broadening the benchmark for digital assets by adding prominent altcoins XRP, Solana (SOL), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and Cardano (ADA).
The proposal is made to allow the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF (NCIQ) to shift from its existing benchmark, the Nasdaq Crypto US Settlement Price Index (NCIUS). The ETF would instead use a broader benchmark called the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI).
Nasdaq recently refreshed the NCIUS by adding four new coins: XRP, Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Stellar Lumens (XLM). These are in addition to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which are now index constituents, making the benchmark more reflective of the wider crypto market.
However, due to existing SEC laws, the Hasdex ETF at present only holds BTC and ETH. This introduces a tracking error risk since the ETF tracks an index of six assets but invests in only two. Hashdex uses a sampling mechanism to reduce this mismatch, although complete alignment with the index is not guaranteed.
The NCI currently includes 9 cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Chainlink (LINK), Litecoin (LTC), and Uniswap (UNI).
If the SEC gives its approval, the ETF will be permitted to invest in all of these coins. The SEC will make a final determination by November 2, 2025. Approval could mark a major step toward greater flexibility and diversification in U.S.-listed crypto ETFs.
