• GSR announced Wednesday the completion of a first options transaction tied to the CD20 index.
  • The CD20 index was introduced earlier this year and is a broad-based market index for crypto, similar to the Dow Jones average for U.S. equities.

As a researcher with a background in finance and experience in the crypto market, I’m excited about the recent development announced by GSR regarding their options transaction tied to the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index. This is an important milestone for the crypto derivatives market as it provides investors with a new way to manage risk and volatility in the broader crypto market.


Today, I can announce that my firm, GSR, has concluded an options deal concerning the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index with St. Gotthard Wealth from Zug, acting as our counterparty in the transaction.

As a researcher studying financial markets, I can affirm that options offer effective methods for mitigating risk and dealing with volatility. According to Rich Rosenblum, co-founder and co-CEO of GSR, who spoke to CoinDesk, we are genuinely excited about our continued involvement in the growth of this market.

In January, CoinDesk introduced the CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a benchmark tracking the market’s largest cryptocurrencies. This index mirrors the function of indices like the S&P 500 or Dow Jones Industrial Average for U.S. stocks. The CD20’s major components consist of bitcoin (30%), ether (19%), Solana (19%), and XRP (7%).
“Although the BTC and ETH options markets have advanced significantly, investors have yet to find a method for expressing a stance on or shielding themselves from the broader crypto market’s volatility,” Ruchir Gupta, the head of options and treasury at GSR, stated in an email to CoinDesk.

“Gupta stated that derivatives based on crypto indices, such as CD20, enable investors to effectively handle their market exposure in a streamlined manner.”

As a researcher exploring the world of cryptocurrency trading, I’ve come across an intriguing aspect: the significance of a thriving futures market for options. Bullish, which operates the well-known CoinDesk platform, offers perpetual futures contracts linked to their CD20 index. These contracts enable traders to place wagers on the overall market trend without expiration dates. Over the past six months, the CD20 index has seen a substantial volume of approximately $6 billion in perpetual futures trading.

The CD20 traded above 2,000 throughout the Asia Wednesday business day, up 2% in the last 24 hours.

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2024-07-10 16:15