Wintermute and The Block Launch GMCI, a Digital Asset Indices Provider, Amid ETF Boom
12 FEB 2024 | NEWS
GMCI introduces GMCI 30, a benchmark index tracking the market performance of large-caps
AMSTERDAM, Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Wintermute, a leading digital asset liquidity provider and OTC trading desk, and The Block, the premier information services provider in the digital asset space, announced the launch of GMCI, a new venture aiming to provide the most robust financial services and index products to the crypto asset management community.
The new company has named industry veteran Maarten Botman as CEO. Prior to joining, Maarten spent more than 15 years at Optiver. Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute, and Larry Cermak, CEO of The Block, will sit on GMCI’s board of directors.
GMCI has launched its flagship product, the GMCI 30 index, which tracks the price performance of the top 30 crypto assets. For crypto and TradFi investors the index provides a best-in-class benchmark to evaluate their returns, broader market performance, and manage risk.
The GMCI 30 flagship index represents a top 30 crypto asset index by market capitalization with a structure that caps the weighting of the top asset at a maximum of 25% of the index’s total value. Assets must meet specific criteria to be included in the index. The asset must be listed on at least one of the eight selected centralized exchanges (CEXs) and supported by at least one of the three selected custodians. Additionally, there must also be comprehensive Market Capitalization data available for the asset. The detailed index methodology will be published on the GMCI website.
Maarten Botman, GMCI CEO, said: “For someone who doesn’t spend all their time diving deeper into the digital asset ecosystem, getting broader or specific market exposure is often a hard task. GMCI indices are designed to bring transparency and simplicity to this quickly evolving asset class. Tracking the performance of the entire industry as well as its sub-sectors is going to become incredibly simple.”
The GMCI 30 index is the first step in the firm’s plan to offer a wide range of segment and category-specific indices purpose-built for digital assets. Additional sector indices specifically tracking Layer 1s, Layer 2s, and DeFi protocols will launch soon after the flagship index. GMCI aims to support a wide range of indices that represent various asset classes and investment styles. These indices will ultimately serve as the foundation for a number of financial products that will be tradable across top-tier exchanges.
GMCI’s launch comes at a time of significant growth for crypto-tied financial products following the SEC’s approval of the Bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs drew in more than $1.5 billion in net inflows since inception, making them one of the most successful ETF launches in history. Still, despite various efforts, no comprehensive crypto asset index has yet gained widespread acceptance as a definitive benchmark.
The introduction of the Bitcoin ETFs is just the beginning; institutions are increasingly interested in broader exposure to the digital asset ecosystem, not just single assets. This trend underscores the need for reliable and comprehensive indices, a gap that GMCI is strategically positioned to fill.
Indices will be constructed by experts from both industry-leading crypto-native and traditional financial (TradFi) institutions, featuring transparent methodology and robust governance. GMCI is in the process of becoming BMR compliant to ensure all indices represent the highest standards of integrity and investability.
“The initial go-to-market strategy is to use the flagship index and allow third parties to build perpetual swap products and list them on leading futures exchanges. Eventually, GMCI has ambitions to trade as ETFs on regulated security exchanges.”, added Maarten Botman.
Wintermute has committed to supporting products built on GMCI indices while The Block launched a website, theblock.co/indices, to track the performance of all GMCI indices and will be helping with distribution to both retail and institutional audiences.
Larry Cermak, CEO of The Block, said: “I am thrilled The Block can help display robustly designed indices in the market. Following hundreds of crypto assets has become an impossible task and with GMCI’s transparent approach, tracking prices across sectors is now accessible for anyone.”
Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute, said: “The launch of GMCI is a very important step in making our industry more accessible for both insiders and new entrants. Its mission is simple, yet ambitious, and I am excited to back it up with Wintermute’s broad expertise and positioning.”
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About GMCI
GMCI is an index provider incorporated in the Netherlands, building unique indices with a tested methodology. GMCI indices will be designed and managed by experts from both industry-leading crypto-native and TradFi institutions. GMCI’s flagship index is GMCI 30.
About Wintermute
Wintermute is a leading global algorithmic trading firm and one of the largest players in digital asset markets. With billions in average daily trading volume, Wintermute offers OTC trading and provides liquidity across 60+ centralized and decentralized exchanges. Wintermute is an active player in the ecosystem, invests in early-stage Web3 projects, and supports traditional financial institutions moving into crypto.
About The Block
The Block is the leading information services brand in the digital asset space. The Block’s expertise across research, news, and data is unmatched and delivers objective and nuanced insight into how this emerging industry intersects with technology, government, and financial markets.
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