Marex introduced Bitcoin and Ether volatility-carry indices on 14 October, adding a digital-asset strategy family to the institutional quantitative-investment range it launched on 12 October. The wider business covers digital assets, commodities, equities and multi-asset exposures.[1][2]
Option pricing supplies the intended return source
Marex says the rules-based strategies use options and perpetual futures available through Coinbase to seek the premium between implied and realised volatility. MSCI, through Compass Financial Technologies, acts as the independent index calculation agent and administrator.[1]
Implied volatility is embedded in option prices; realised volatility measures the movement subsequently observed in the underlying market. The intended premium compensates an investor for bearing an exposure that can lose money when markets move sharply. “Carry” describes that return mechanism, rather than a fixed payment on deposited coins.
Perpetual futures also introduce funding and margin mechanics distinct from holding spot Bitcoin or Ether. The announcement identifies the instruments but does not provide the full weights, rebalancing rules or risk limits needed to reconstruct funding sensitivity or a particular stress loss.[1]
The investment format shapes the net outcome
The index and the contracts that can reference it
| Layer | What it supplies | What must be assessed separately |
|---|---|---|
| Crypto volatility-carry index | A rules-based reference for the strategy’s calculated performance. | The complete methodology, rebalancing rules and treatment of costs.Source 1 |
| Tracker certificate | A possible instrument through which an investor obtains index-linked exposure. | Issuer terms, charges, liquidity and the legal payment obligation.Source 2 |
| Total-return swap | A contractual exchange of returns; Marex describes traditional or digital collateral possibilities. | Counterparty, collateral, financing and termination terms.Source 2 |
| Structured note | A tailored payment structure referencing a strategy or underlying exposure. | The actual payout formula and any conditions affecting capital repayment.Source 2 |
The broader QIS launch describes tracker certificates, total-return swaps and structured notes, building on earlier bespoke strategies. The TRADE and Institutional Asset Manager report the expansion into a more standardised institutional range. That can make a defined strategy easier to distribute across different transaction formats.[2][3][4]
Two contracts referencing the same index can still differ in maturity, financing charges, issuer exposure, collateral requirements and termination rights. Those terms determine how a calculated index return reaches the investor. A funded certificate and a collateralised swap therefore require different cash and counterparty analysis even when their reference level is identical.
Independent calculation makes the reference easier to separate from the provider
An external calculation and administration role distinguishes who maintains the reference from who designs and distributes the strategy. It supports a clearer calculation process, while market losses remain part of the exposure and exit liquidity depends on the investment contract. Marex explicitly states that the indices are not available to retail investors.[1]
The development gives institutions a more standardised route to a particular crypto risk premium. Assessing an actual investment requires the complete index methodology alongside the instrument’s payment formula, charges, financing and collateral terms.
Sources & further reading
- Marex Crypto Volatility Carry Indices Marex · 14 Oct 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Marex institutional QIS investment strategies Marex · 12 Oct 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Marex goes live with institutional QIS offering The TRADE · 14 Oct 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Marex launches institutional QIS indices on digital assets Institutional Asset Manager · 14 Oct 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026