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Wintermute, a digital asset liquidity provider and OTC trading desk, and The Block, an information services provider in the digital asset space, have announced the creation of GMCI, a new venture focused on providing financial services and index products to the crypto asset management sector.
Maarten Botman, an industry veteran with over 15 years of experience at Optiver, has been appointed as CEO of GMCI. Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute, and Larry Cermak, CEO of The Block, will serve on GMCI's board of directors.
The company has launched its first product, the GMCI 30 index, which tracks the price performance of the top 30 crypto assets by market capitalization. The index aims to provide a benchmark for both crypto and traditional finance investors to evaluate returns and manage risk.
The GMCI 30 index caps the weighting of the top asset at 25% of the index's total value. To be included, assets must meet specific criteria, including listing on at least one of eight selected centralized exchanges and support from one of three selected custodians. Comprehensive market capitalization data must also be available for the asset.
Maarten Botman, GMCI CEO, stated: "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."
GMCI plans to launch additional sector-specific indices tracking Layer 1s, Layer 2s, and DeFi protocols in the near future. The company aims to develop a range of indices representing various asset classes and investment styles, which will serve as the foundation for financial products tradable on top-tier exchanges.
The launch of GMCI comes amid growing interest in crypto-tied financial products, particularly following the SEC's approval of Bitcoin ETFs. These ETFs have seen significant inflows since their inception, highlighting the demand for crypto-related investment vehicles.
GMCI is working towards becoming BMR compliant to ensure its indices meet high standards of integrity and investability. The company's initial strategy involves using the flagship index to allow third parties to build perpetual swap products for listing on futures exchanges, with potential plans for ETF listings on regulated security exchanges in the future.
Wintermute has committed to supporting products built on GMCI indices, while The Block has launched a website to track the performance of all GMCI indices and will assist with distribution to retail and institutional audiences.
Larry Cermak, CEO of The Block, commented: "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, added: "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."
