Ah, dear reader! XRP has made a most audacious leap into the hallowed halls of the Nasdaq Crypto US Settlement Price Index, a veritable triumph for institutional adoption, and a prelude to a market expansion that promises to be as grand as a peacock in full display! 🦚
XRP Included in Nasdaq Index Redesign
On the sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord 2025, the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF, in a fit of regulatory enthusiasm, submitted an update to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This document, a veritable tome of financial ambition, reveals that Nasdaq Inc. has reconfigured the Nasdaq Crypto US Settlement Price Index (NCIUS) on June 2, expanding its illustrious composition beyond the usual suspects, bitcoin ( BTC) and ethereum ( ETH), to include four additional digital assets. As the filing so eloquently states:
Beginning on June 2, 2025, the Index introduced additional index constituents (cardano ( ADA), solana ( SOL), stellar lumens ( XLM) and XRP ( XRP)).
This ETF, trading under the rather charming ticker NCIQ, offers market capitalization-weighted exposure to BTC and ETH within a regulated exchange-traded framework. It tracks the Nasdaq Crypto US Settlement Price Index, which, like a well-mannered gentleman, applies a rules-based methodology that permits the inclusion of new digital assets over time.
However, dear reader, do not be deceived by the index’s newfound breadth! Existing regulatory limitations, like a stern schoolmaster, prohibit the Hashdex ETF from holding cryptocurrencies other than BTC and ETH. Thus, the ETF finds itself in a rather precarious position, unable to replicate the expanded index, creating a delightful risk of performance divergence. The exclusion of these newly incorporated assets introduces the tantalizing possibility of increased tracking error, given the mismatch between the fund’s holdings and the benchmark.
The SEC filing, in its infinite wisdom, explicitly underscores this discrepancy:
Under current regulatory restrictions, the Trust is only permitted to hold bitcoin and ether, and is not permitted to hold the new index constituents and, as such, the risk of potential tracking error is increased.
In a separate act of regulatory gallantry, Nasdaq submitted a proposed rule change to the SEC on March 7, seeking permission for the ETF to adopt the broader Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI) as its official benchmark. This index, a veritable cornucopia of digital delights, encompasses BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA, XLM, along with chainlink (LINK), litecoin ( LTC), and uniswap (UNI). Notably, XRP was incorporated into the NCI on June 3, 2024. Should the SEC grant this wish, the ETF would be authorized to hold all index constituents. A final determination from the agency is expected by Nov. 2, 2025. 🕰️
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2025-06-09 04:28