Leading Japanese consulting firm Nomura Research Institute (NRI) partnered with cryptocurrency investment solution provider Intelligence Unit (IU) to launch a tradable cryptocurrency index.

According to a press release published on Jan. 29, the new index’s name is NRI/IU Crypto-Asset Index and it is meant for use by financial institutions. The index also draws data from crypto index platform MVIS and major cryptocurrency data platform CryptoCompare.

The dedicated website explains that the index is meant to cover global crypto markets in U.S. dollars and Japanese yen by tracking the largest cryptocurrencies. The index was designed for Japanese institutional investors with consideration for local availability and custody solutions.

A tradable index tracking five top cryptos

The NRI/IU Crypto-Asset Index is rebalanced monthly and tracks the performance of a pre-defined basket of crypto assets and will be tradable in dollars and yen on NRI’s platform. The index includes Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and XRP. IU CEO Akihiro Niimi commented on the launch:

“Strong demand from institutional investors is contributing to the growth of crypto-asset funds, and well-diversified products like index funds are attractive as alternative investments.”

Backtested performance statistics shown on the website claim that the year-to-date performance is 33.91%, the one-year performance is 104.86% and the three-year return is 2,211.26%.

NRI is an affiliate of Japanese financial services giant Nomura Holdings, which has embraced blockchain technology and offers several services related to crypto assets. In October 2019, Nomura Holdings and popular Japanese messaging app Line announced a final capital alliance agreement focused on blockchain technology.

In May 2018, Nomura rolled out cryptocurrency custodial services at its banks. The custody service aimed to address a perceived shortage of “safekeeping solutions” which were preventing traditional asset managers from building investment vehicles in the crypto ecosystem, according to Nomura.

Crypto derivatives are on the rise

As cryptocurrencies become ever-more-widely recognized as an asset class, an increasing number of firms are developing derivatives giving exposure to their price fluctuations. As Cointelegraph reported last week, Swiss cryptocurrency financial firm Amun AG launched an exchange-traded product giving investors inverse exposure to Bitcoin on leading Swiss Exchange SIX.

Still, while many claim that there is a clear demand for cryptocurrency derivatives, recent statistics may show otherwise. As Cointelegraph reported earlier today, little more than a month after their launch, Bitcoin options contracts on the Intercontinental Exchange’s digital asset platform Bakkt appear to have seen sluggish uptake, with no new trades occurring over the past 11 days.