Nasdaq Goes Crypto-Heavy: 4 New Assets Join Index—Will XRP and SOL Feel the Squeeze?

Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq just upped its crypto game—adding four fresh digital assets to its index. Traders are left wondering: will this move spark rallies for XRP and Solana, or leave them eating dust?

The expansion screams institutional adoption—but let’s be real, it’s also a slick PR move for Nasdaq to stay relevant in the ‘wild west’ of finance. Because nothing says ‘innovation’ like chasing retail FOMO.

Nasdaq crypto index end-game

In addition to these assets, the index tracks others like Bitcoin [BTC] and ethereum [ETH], bringing the total crypto assets to nine.

Notably, the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index Leveraged this benchmark but was approved to hold only BTC and ETH due to regulatory limitations.  

The issuer has sought the regulator’s permission to expand to other assets. SEC’s decision deadline for the same is scheduled for the 2nd November 2025. 

A similar Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF application’s fate will be known on the 31st of July. But how has the individual ETF fared compared to individual assets like XRP or BTC?

Source: Crypto index ETF performance, TradingView

On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, XRP was down about 3% while BTC was up 14%. But for the select crypto index ETFs, performance averaged 5% or below over the same period.

Notably, the Coinbase 50 Index (COIN50) was down 4%, while Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF lost 3.5%. 

However, the Nasdaq crypto index and the Nasdaq Hashdex crypto index were up 4% and 5%.

Overall, the ETFs could offer the best low-risk exposure across several crypto assets, but the general returns were lower compared to some select underlying assets. 

That said, the update also followed another positive announcement of Ripple’s partnership with a Web Salon to support the digital asset ecosystem in Japan.

Collectively, the development juiced up XRP’s speculative interest as Open Interest (OI) jumped to $4.1B for the first time in June. 

Source: Coinglass

This underscored a short-term bullish sentiment. On the price charts, XRP bounced 4% from $2.1 to $2.3 but appeared to be consolidating above the key moving averages and short-term supply zone at $2.3. 

If $2.3 becomes support, XRP could trend higher to $2.4 or $2.5, potentially offering a 6%-10% gain. 

On the contrary, a price rejection at $2.3 could embolden short-sellers to drag XRP back to $2.0 again. 

Source: XRP/USDT, TradingView