Kraken’s CF Benchmarks hits 50% dominance on crypto ETF market

Kraken’s
CF
Benchmarks
achieves
dominance
in
the
crypto
ETF
market
with
$24
billion
in
reference
data,
gears
up
for
expansion
amid
unprecedented
demand
surge.

CF
Benchmarks,
a
branch
of
the
cryptocurrency
exchange
Kraken,
is
making
big
gains
from
this
year’s
rise
in
spot
Bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs).
The
firm,
which
provides
price
data
for
the
ETFs,
is
now
handling
about
$24
billion
worth
of
crypto
ETFs,
according
to
a
Bloomberg

report,
representing
roughly
half
of
the
crypto
benchmarking
market.

CF
Benchmarks
CEO
Sui
Chung
said
in
an
interview
the
firm
sees
crypto
ETFs
reaching
Israel
and
South
Korea
next,
saying
the
latter
has
gained
a
“high
degree
of
[crypto]
adoption.”

“South
Korea
is
a
market
where
ETFs
have
become
the
wrapper
of
choice
for
long-term
savings.”

Sui
Chung

Initially,
the
firm
expected
$5
billion
in
assets
this
year
for
the
U.S.
spot
Bitcoin
ETFs
using
its
data.
However,
Chung
disclosed
that
the
actual
demand
far
exceeded
the
projection,
surpassing
four
times
the
expected
amount.

Despite
a
somewhat
lukewarm
reception,
with
initial
trading
volumes
for
spot
Bitcoin
and
Ethereum
ETFs
in
Hong
Kong
reaching
less
than
$13
million,
according
to
Bloomberg

data,
CF
Benchmarks
remains
optimistic
about
the
region’s
potential.
Chung
revealed
that
the
firm
anticipates
managing
approximately
$1
billion
in
assets
for
Hong
Kong
products
by
the
end
of
2024.

In
mid-April,
Hong
Kong

granted
approval
for
spot
Bitcoin
and
Ethereum
ETFs,
a
few
months
after
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
gave
the
go-ahead
to
several
spot
Bitcoin
ETF
applications
in
the
U.S.
However,
while
Hong
Kong
progresses,
the
SEC
appears
to
be
taking
a
more
cautious
approach
regarding
spot
Ethereum
ETFs,
potentially
postponing
approvals
until
later
in
2024
or
even
beyond.

Founded
in
2017,
CF
Benchmarks
was
later
acquired
by
Kraken
in
2019.