CFB Talks Digital Assets

Recorded May 22, 2024. One of our earliest and longest-standing clients, Monochrome, today forged another major step for institutional digital asset adoption in Australia, by listing Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (ticker: IBTC), the first and only Aussie fund that invests directly in Bitcoin. We were lucky enough to grab half an hour with their busy Head of ETF Operations Grayson McLeod, just ahead of th...

Recorded April 30, 2024. With so much mainstream attention on the launch of digital asset funds on US exchanges, it’s easy to overlook the fact regulated spot crypto exchange traded products (ETPs) have been around for far longer in Europe than in the States! This highly active and liquid market is typified by firms like ETC Group, one of the region’s largest crypto focused fund managers, in AuM t...

Recorded March 27, 2024. The CFB TDA crew hosts David Lawant, Head of Research at FalconX, a leading institutional digital asset prime brokerage that provides secure, efficient, and compliant access to digital asset markets. Join us as we lift the veil on one of the more exciting yet less covered areas of the market and get an insider's view on the OTC trading segment: who are the institutions mak...

Recorded 15 March 2024. Digital asset markets just saw one their best quarters since the end of ‘Crypto Winter’ - and you guessed it, the unprecedented influx of demand, liquidity and inflows into the new investment product class of Bitcoin ETFs played a major part. But that’s not the whole story of course! CF Benchmarks’ Head of Research Gabe Selby CFA, talks through the December-March quarter’s...

Recorded March 1, 2024. Political intrigue at the SEC, the fastest-growing ETFs in history, and what chance of a spot Ether ETF by this summer? Exclusive insights from James Seyffart, one half of the Bloomberg Intelligence ETF team that successfully predicted the launch of the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, and who now place the odds of a spot Ether ETF approval at 60%.

Recorded 21 December 2023. It’s time for another episode of CFB Talks Digital Assets and this time we’re featuring our latest Quarterly Attribution Report (QAR)! This QAR is written, as usual, by Lead Research Analyst, Gabe Selby, CFA. In this episode, Ken and Gabe discuss the following topics: Could SEC-approved crypto ETFs spark mainstream adoption? CME futures interest is surging on ETF hopes....

Recorded 20 December 2023. It's crunch time for the seven major investment management firms aiming to use our CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate - New York Variant (BRRNY) to benchmark the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs! The SEC is expected to come to a final decision in coming days. A 'yes' will change the face of mainstream investing forever. At this critical juncture, we are honoured and unbelievably...

Recorded 16 November 2023. On the latest episode of CFB Talks Digital Assets, we’re fortunate to be joined by Yubao Flora Lou, Chief Product Officer of Meta Lab HK, the fast-growing #digitalassets unit of Harvest Global Investments Limited! This follows the recent launch of our CF Meta Lab GameFi Index. Key talking points: What is #GameFi exactly? (AKA, Play-to-Earn Gaming.) A look under the hood...

Recorded 19 September 2023. In this edition of CFB Talks Digital Assets, Ken and Gabe discuss the main takeaways from the latest quarterly performance attribution analysis on our flagship indices. They dive deep into what has been driving crypto markets, from the recent spot Bitcoin filings to the court decisions on GBTC and Ripple. Ken and Gabe highlight what this will all mean for both instituti...

Recorded 9 August 2023. In this episode of CFB Talks Digital Assets, Hosts Ken Odeluga and Gabe Selby, CFA, alongside CFB’s Lead Quant, Cristian Isac, dive deep into the heart of our proprietary digital asset taxonomy, revealing its vital role in helping practitioners better understand the blockchain economy. Whether you're a seasoned investor or just starting your journey, understanding how diffe...

Recorded 28 July 2023. Here at CF Benchmarks, we don’t downplay the fact that crypto is potentially one of the riskiest asset classes around. But thinking more constructively, how can those risks be managed? In fact, because digital assets are so dissimilar to traditional assets in terms of technological complexity, their mode of economic participation and more, how do we even determine and measur...

Recorded 13 July 2023. Ever since BlackRock’s surprise filing to list a spot Bitcoin ETF, powered by our regulated CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate - NY Variant, it's been a top talking point among institutional investors. But given CF Benchmarks' participation in more crypto ETF filings than any other provider, we have a uniquely informed perspective on what’s likely to work and what definitely won’...

Recorded 12 June 2023. It’s time to review our latest Quarterly Attribution Report (QAR) - the unique, institutional-grade analysis of market performance drivers, based on our CF Digital Asset Classification Structure (CF DACS).Join CF Benchmarks' Lead Research Analyst Gabe Selby, CFA, and Head of Content Ken Odeluga, on CFB Talks Digital Assets, as they uncover…. Just how narrow ‘market leadershi...

Recorded 1 June 2023. We're stoked to have Peter Stern, our Director of Sales & Business Development, as the latest guest on CFB Talks Digital Assets. In many ways, Peter has one of the most difficult jobs in digital assets: selling crypto indices to regulated, notoriously conservative institutions in the Americas! But it’s a job he’s evidently excelled at. As we’ve seen, forward-thinking inst...

Recorded 3 May 2023. Our guest on the latest CFB Talks Digital Assets is Jeff Yew, founder and CEO of Monochrome — and one of the most influential and respected leaders of Australia’s institutional crypto industry. The main topic was Monochrome Bitcoin Trust (IBTC), the only fund authorised under Australia’s crypto product licensing rules. Highlights of our stimulating and educational chat: Why di...

Recorded 18 April 2023. Engineering and calculating UK Benchmarks Regulation-standard crypto indices is an intellectual capital-intensive enterprise! Fortunately, some of the brightest index architects around work at CF Benchmarks - like Lucy Slee, a Software Engineer in our index team. Our chat with Lucy on the latest CFB Talks Digital Assets is a rare chance to hear how we construct reliable, ac...

Recorded 11 April 2023. Despite the EU passing its landmark MiCA legislation this week, it remains a headache for regulated European institutions to offer listed exposure to digital assets - and U.S. regs are even more painfully a work in progress. CF Benchmarks’ CF Rolling CME Futures Index Series offers a solution. Join our Senior Product Manager, Thomas Erdösi, on the latest episode of CFB Talk...

Recorded 28 March 2023. In the latest episode of CFB Talks Digital Assets, Ken and Gabe dive into the roller coaster ride that has been crypto in the first quarter of 2023. Despite market shifts, unexpected events and the collapse of major financial institutions, the digital assets market has been surprisingly resilient, underpinned by the remarkable performance of bitcoin and other cryptocurrenci...

Recorded 9 March 2023. Our latest CFB Talks Digital Assets features Bloomberg's Mike McGlone, one of the most read, followed and watched global macro strategists. Though a veteran of established markets like commodities and equities, Mike was also an early adopter and integrator of the digital asset class. This means his perspective on the intersection of crypto, macro and ‘Wall Street’ is highly...

Recorded 23 February 2023.Recent crypto counterparty implosions achieved one thing at least - they highlighted the need for credible, high-integrity digital asset interest rates! That need and demand is among the key reasons why CF Benchmarks developed the CF Bitcoin Interest Rate Curve (CF BIRC), the first comprehensive BTC lending rate. And the CF BIRC is the focus of the latest CFB Talks Digita...

Recorded 23 January 2023. Time for CFB Talks Digital Assets 2023 Outlook Edition! Hear our Big ‘Three Rs’ for 2023: ‘Relief’ - ‘Regulation’ - ‘Recovery’: With markets off to a strong start, the ‘Relief’ part is on. But does the CF Broad Cap Index’s biggest year-to-date outperformance vs. global equities since 2021 herald a sustainable ‘Recovery’? Why the 'Regulatory' outlook remains uncertain even...

Recorded 13 December 2022.A reminder of how much of a - genuinely - positive year it's been for blockchain technology, institutional and broader crypto adoption is well overdue, and one of the experts best-placed to deliver it is Marcelo Sampaio, co-founder and CEO of Hashdex...Which is why we're stoked to have Marcelo as our first investment management guest on CFB Talks Digital Assets. Tune in t...

Recorded 8 December 2022.In the latest episode of CFB Talks Digital Assets we review yet another tumultuous quarter of deleveraging triggered by yet another big counterparty collapse. Still, as Lead Research Analyst Gabe Selby points out, despite all digital asset categories remaining in the red throughout the quarter, as reflected by negative returns for our regulated crypto portfolio indices, sc...

Recorded 22 November 2022.Following CF Benchmarks CEO Sui Chung's widely circulated comments arguing that FTX-SBF might actually accelerate the next wave of institutional crypto adoption - not impede it - Head of Content Ken Odeulga and Lead Research Analyst Gabe Selby were pleased to be joined by Sui for the latest episode of CFB Talks Digital Assets. Highlights include: Why there's little that c...

Recorded 15 November 2022. Unfortunately, there’s no getting away from the FTX debacle right now... Ken Odeluga and Gabe Selby, CFA do a quick recap in the latest CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast, and talk about what it all might mean for the industry and consumers going forward. Plus, as if FTX’s implosion wasn’t enough, we look into the after effects on other providers - AKA contagion. Beyond co...