Kraken’s branch, CF Benchmarks, is hitting the jackpot thanks to the surge in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this year. They’re the go-to for providing data to around $24 billion worth of these ETFs, mainly those dealing with Bitcoin, like BlackRock’s whopping $15.9 billion fund.
They’re already dominating half of the market for crypto benchmarking and are now jumping into the Bitcoin ETF scene in Hong Kong, with plans to conquer South Korea and Israel next.
CEO Sui Chung is leading the charge, making sure CF Benchmarks stays at the forefront of this booming trend. He said in an interview, “South Korea is a market where ETFs have become the wrapper of choice for long-term savings.”
He added, “It is also a market where digital assets have gained a high degree of adoption.”
This year, the US spot-Bitcoin ETFs, which use the company’s indexes, were expected to reach $5 billion in assets, but they exceeded expectations by more than four times! In Hong Kong, Chung predicts the funds will hit $1 billion in assets by the end of 2024.
The US ETFs caused a surge in Bitcoin prices, hitting a record high of almost $74,000 in March. However, since then, Bitcoin has dropped by about $14,000 as investor interest in the funds cooled. Just recently, nearly a dozen US ETFs experienced their largest daily net outflow, leaving about $47 billion in assets under management.
London-based CF Benchmarks is expecting revenue to grow in the “mid-double digits” this year, according to Chung. Their latest UK accounts show revenue hit £6 million ($7.5 million) in 2022. The company plans to expand its team by about a third to over 40 employees.
Also Read: Kraken Acquires TradeStation Crypto for US Expansion
