S&P Dow Jones Indices and Kaiko have formally merged their cryptocurrency index offerings into a single co-branded suite, the S&P Kaiko Digital Asset Indices. Announced on September 1, 2026, the consolidation brings together Kaiko’s reference rates and multi-asset indices with S&P DJI’s existing crypto benchmarks on one platform, creating a catalogue of more than 4,000 rates and indices for institutional users.
Under the arrangement, Kaiko supplies crypto-native data infrastructure and calculation technology, drawing on connectivity to more than 150 exchanges and round-the-clock market coverage. S&P DJI contributes global licensing, distribution, benchmark administration and governance, including its status under the EU Benchmarks Regulation and alignment with the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks. Existing financial products benchmarked to Kaiko reference rates and multi-asset indices — including exchange-traded products, futures, options and structured products — will be able to carry the new S&P Kaiko brand.
The launch responds to growing institutional demand for transparent and reliable benchmarks. Cameron Drinkwater, chief product and operations officer at S&P DJI, said the partners are raising the standard for digital asset benchmarks, adding that institutions need indices defined by transparency, rigor and market relevance. Kaiko chief executive Ambre Soubiran said the pairing gives institutions the credibility, distribution and data precision they need to participate in this asset class with confidence.
The move follows other institutionalization trends, including CME Group’s recent addition of reference rates for Ethena’s ENA token and growing XRP futures open interest moving toward CME. Cboe already settles its Bitcoin and Ether futures against Kaiko-linked rates, and later moved those contracts to Cboe Futures Exchange — a concrete use case for regulated reference rates. S&P DJI also previously worked with Pantera on a fundamentals-based benchmark whose initial portfolio held 18 assets.
The report stresses that the 4,000 figure includes single-asset rates, fixing variants and multi-asset indices, not necessarily 4,000 investable products. Licensees still must choose methodology, fixing time, currency, eligible venues and fallback rules that match their obligations. Exchange selection remains the core control: Kaiko’s methodology uses executed trades from up to five vetted spot exchanges, combines a volume-weighted median with time weighting, and reviews exchange constituents quarterly. The commercial change may be larger than the methodology change because S&P DJI’s distribution and licensing network can make Kaiko rates easier for banks, exchanges and structured-product issuers to procure under a familiar vendor relationship.
