With a notional $1 trillion-plus in CME Bitcoin and Ether futures settled by CF Benchmarks indices since their launch, our partnership is one of the most pivotal in crypto.

Meanwhile, after the Solana futures debut in March, and with the launch of XRP futures coming next week, the leading derivatives marketplace continues to play a critical and growing role in the evolution of the digital asset class.

It's why we're stoked to welcome Brian Burke, CFA, senior director overseeing crypto options at CME Group, as our extra special guest on the CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast!

Join us for an exclusive look inside crypto's biggest regulated marketplace, where both institutional and retail participation are accelerating.

A few of many enlightening talking points:

• 'Crypto VIX' Futures? - With global market volatility in the news, how close are we to CME Bitcoin volatility futures?
• Quicker Roadmap - how increasing regulatory clarity, rising market maturity, and falling information asymmetry are driving a faster cadence of crypto derivative launches - and what to expect next
• Solana Surprise - SOL futures volumes and open interest are outpacing expectations: what's behind the momentum?
• 'Proto Perps' imminent - With smaller contract sizes and super-long dated expiries, how upcoming Spot Quoted Futures (SQF) can fill the retail gap even more - and why institutional players are interested too

Dive in now for a revealing conversation on the oldest derivatives venue's enduring place in the newest asset class!

As markets contemplate what the next 100 days hold in store, we're stoked to have another dose of exclusive insights from FalconX's Head of Research, David Lawant, from his vantage point serving the biggest investors in the world. A small sample of topics you really don't want to miss:

• Meet Bitcoin's decoupling from alts, with institutions playing a bigger role via ETF flows
• One crucial difference between Bitcoin's 'tariff crash' and historical routs: volumes were 25%-50% lower this time
• 'Goldification': how BTC's dollar-defensiveness and flattening implied volatility make it more and more of a safe haven
• A surprise split between Solana client personas: did you know crypto native institutions trade more SOL than ETH?
• 'Ethereum is Dead' vs. 'Ethereum's Just Getting Started' - a tactical bias in ETH trading post ETF options debut
• CFTC-regulated 'perps' are coming - very probably! How markets are sleeping on the implications

Get ready for whatever's next. Dive in now!

In this episode of CFB Talks Digital Assets, we break down CFB Research's Q2 2025 Market Outlook, “The New Equilibrium: Unraveling Economic Tension & Thematic Tailwinds."

From stubborn inflation and global growth uncertainty to proactive regulatory shifts and strengthening structural themes, the quarter ahead is defined by both tension and opportunity. We explore how digital assets are being shaped by overlapping forces: macroeconomic crosscurrents, legislative momentum, and evolving investor preferences.

Sample highlights ↓

* The shift in US trade policy and what it means for the path of monetary policy

* How pending legislation could set US issuers to dominate the stablecoin landscape

* Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade and what it means for the network going forward

*Why we anticipate the value factor to outperform going forward, and what CFB's factor model tells us about last quarter's move

* Bitcoin’s correlation with global M2 and the potential for a liquidity-driven move in Q2

If you’re looking to make sense of an investment landscape at a critical inflection point—this is your guide to the themes that matter.

Recorded Friday April 4, 2025.

We’re delighted to welcome one of the most esteemed and authoritative institutional crypto practitioners back to the CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast - Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management.

As well as informed insights on recent market volatility, we’re also fortunate to get Matt’s take on critical regulatory and political developments impacting the space so far this year.

Sample highlights ↓

* Signs of exponential growth in the Bitwise VettaFi financial advisor survey:

- Allocations doubled to an all-time high of 22% in 2024; a rate equivalent to the growth over the previous six years combined

* How existing investors are moving beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum to explore the ‘crypto sleeve’ - diversified crypto portfolios, and why that trend is set to prevail.

- Also, why 60/30/10 is optimal

* Why markets are still over-discounting the significance of Washington’s proposed Bitcoin Strategic Reserve

* Despite the SEC’s Ripple retreat, how Solana (SOL) is likely still in pole position to be the next crypto approved for spot ETFs

We can’t stress enough: this conversation is packed with informed alpha, from quite possibly the best-known crypto CIO in the world - do not miss!

Recorded March 20th, 2025.

Recorded March 11, 2025.

Time for the Q1 market review edition of our CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast - where the CF Benchmarks research team, Gabe Selby and Mark Pilipczuk, put that complex first quarter under the microscope.

Key themes:

■ How sharp does a crypto market tumble need to be to constitute a correction?And when does a crypto correction become a bear? Get our analysts’ take on the equivalent of the down 10% but <20% rule of thumb, for stocks

■ Even amid the overall downturn, our Diversified Broad Cap Index - best proxy for crypto beta - underperformed its free float counterpart by 800 basis points. Hear why

■ Takeaways from the broader negative breadth in Q1 2025 vs. Q3 2024. And what’s the story behind XRP’s solo positive performance among large caps?

■ Flight to quality is no stranger to crypto! Detail and potential alpha in the aftermath of ‘Meme-lash’...

■ Quantifying and qualifying the strengthening stocks-crypto correlation. And why was the strongest crypto-fixed income correlation with 20-yr US Treasurys?

Following Franklin Templeton’s recent launch of Franklin Crypto ETF, ticker EZPZ, the asset management giant now has three digital asset ETPs in its roster. But if you thought Franklin’s crypto journey only began with the Bitcoin and Ether ETFs it listed last year, you’re probably unaware of just how significant and longstanding its digital asset footprint actually is ... not to mention the laser eyes! Well, here’s your best chance to catch up quick: we’re honoured to welcome Franklin’s Head of Digital Assets, Roger Bayston, and Head of ETF Product and Capital Markets, David Mann, to the CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast. Join us to learn how EZPZ is just one of the fruits of Franklin’s growing track record on-chain, stemming from their tokenized money market fund launched in 2021, and beyond. Sample highlights in our deep dive -

• What makes Franklin Crypto ETF the most EZPZ route to BTC + ETH exposure?
• Why Franklin chose our CF Institutional Digital Asset Index – US Settlement Price (IDAX) as EZPZ’s reference index
• Signs that advisors are coming round to the idea that zero allocation to crypto is the biggest risk
• Why Roger thinks getting indices like IDAX into model portfolios could be key for greater crypto diversification
• How learnings from Franklin’s multi-chain money market fund, FOBXX and its BENJI token, are paving the way to increased efficiency, convenience, and growth for investors
• The Franklin Templeton edge with advisors, from a deep bench of crypto expertise, research - and that unmatched history on-chain

For a conversation packed with institutional crypto insights, grab this show right now!

One of Ethereum’s newest and most exciting Layer-2s is of course Ink, unleashed by Kraken on the Optimism Superchain in December - so we’re thrilled to welcome Andrew Koller, Ink’s founder, to the CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast. With deep on-chain expertise, Andrew dives into some of the most critical topics shaping the future of Ethereum, institutional participation, and how the network scales to a billion users. Top points include:

• Are meme coins the ultimate Trojan horse for mass adoption, or is their life cycle limited?

• Can Ethereum learn from Solana’s UX, and how can users expect the on-chain experience to be more seamless following the Pectra upgrade?

• How Kraken’s expertise in stablecoins is being put to work to improve on-chain liquidity using USDT0

• Are partnerships with players like Securitize paving the way for a wider array of tokenized assets, and what can Ink do to make institutions comfortable bringing assets on chain?

• The rationale behind building on the OP stack and the road towards full decentralization

All in all, this is a must-listen for anyone interested in Ethereum’s future.

Recorded 29 January 2025.

We’re beyond stoked to welcome Marco Santori as our guest on the CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast.

Marco was Kraken’s Chief Legal Officer for, quite possibly, 5 of the most pivotal years crypto will see for some time, and he remains a senior Kraken advisor.

Widely thought of as ‘Crypto’s Attorney’, Marco has been the driving force behind several initiatives in the US - many with implications beyond - aiming for fairer and clearer future regulations, and a more rational application of current regulations.

Little wonder Marco is also - reportedly - a candidate to be chair of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

If you’re serious about how US crypto regulation could (and should) evolve, and what could truly revolutionize access to digital assets there, don’t miss this episode.

Top points include:

• De-constructing Operation Choke Point 2.0: how ‘shadow de-banking’ gets dismantled
• What needs to happen for a Crypto Strategic Reserve to see the light of day ... if it ever will
• Why FIT 21, Token Generation Events (AKA ICOs) and streamlined tax reporting should be among top priorities of the White House’s crypto working group
• Why there’s a ‘good chance’ the SEC will pivot to ‘in-kind’ from ‘cash-create/redeem’ for crypto ETFs
• The super-fast route to market for Solana ETFs (and others) by SEC discretion

Recorded 17 January 2025.

The potential for factor-based investing to one day be applied to digital assets, has long been a tantalizing prospect.

But it’s not been possible - till now.

CF Benchmarks’ recent report - ‘A Factor Model for Digital Assets’ - demonstrated the existence of ‘classic’ asset market behaviour patterns (factors), like Momentum, Liquidity, Value and others, within the crypto asset class, beyond any reasonable doubt.

For the clearest possible exploration of the research, the CFB Talks Digital Assets team were stoked to welcome CF Benchmarks quant and product manager Cristian Isac, back to the podcast.

Listen in to 5x your understanding of Crypto Factors.

Key points include....

• The quickening pace of institutional participation, and why it means the time for a digital asset factor model is now
• How classic models like CAPM and Fama-French were adapted for use on crypto’s unique dynamics
• Surmounting the data quality challenge: observations across rebalances, universes, and monetary regimes
• Impressive results; e.g.: Size - risk premium: ~9% annualised; Sharpe: 0.5; Growth - risk premium: ~25% annualised; Sharpe: ~ 1.5

All in all, this episode should be essential listening for quants, portfolio managers, and investment professionals in general; anyone, in fact, serious about the evolution of digital asset investing.

Recorded 7 January 2025.

Digital assets have a high bar to beat in 2025, after a stonking 2024!

But with a new pro-crypto US administration waiting in the wings, this year promises to be just as consequential.

Markets-wise, January is off to a less than sure-footed start.

As CF Benchmarks Head of Research Gabe Selby, CFA, and Research Analyst, Mark Pilipczuk point out in our first podcast of 2025, it’s a follow-on from the ’Santa Rally’s no-show in December.

That was after one of the strongest returns for years by our mega cap basket, the Ultra Cap 5, though.

And, with alts underperforming overall, catch-up trades could be on the table. But which ones?

Join Gabe and Mark, with Head of Content, Ken Odeluga, as they tally up crypto’s seismic 2024, and surface everything to watch going into another critical year.

Top themes:

• AI agents: With some already earning above the median US wage, find out how they could soon be market-making, operating cross-chain liquidity, and even making agent-to-agent transactions. What could possibly go wrong!

• Ether fund flows punched above their weight relative to the ETH/BTC ratio into year-end, but ETH AuM still doesn’t reflect that pair’s joint market cap weight. Does Dec’s $2B ETH inflow mean the catch-up is on?

• Regulatory transition: How likely are we to see Solana and XRP ETFs, before we see SOL and XRP DCMs? Which filings have the highest chance of near-term approval?

• How to gauge when our research team’s call for RIA crypto ETF holdings to breach 50% of the total is in sight

All in, it’s time once again to grab your preferred beverage, sit down, and soak up the latest insights from our true institutional insiders.