Index Coop Q3 Update
The Index Coop’s mission is to make it easy to access risks and returns in crypto. We do this by creating a diverse range of tokens and vaults that offer exposure to various themes and strategies in the crypto market.
The purpose of this Q3 2023 report is to foster transparency and accountability within the Index Coop and to ensure that token holders are well-informed and engaged stakeholders.
This report will provide INDEX holders with a comprehensive update on the Coop’s performance, including financial metrics, product development updates, protocol upgrades, community engagement activities, and partnership updates. It addresses some things we’ve been quietly working on, upcoming plans and initiatives, and obstacles we faced during the quarter.
This update also allows token holders to ask questions, offer feedback, and participate in the Coop’s decision-making process.
Q3 2023 — High-level Overview
Financial Performance
Treasury Insights
At the end of Q3, Index Coop’s treasury held $5.56m, composed mainly of stablecoins. Index Coop is currently holding $2.42m in USDC with some of that deployed into Compound and Notional. There is $1.48m in DAI with some deployed to Spark (Maker). There is $660k in LUSD with some deployed to the Liquidity Stability Pool and $660k in undeployed USDT. Index Coop also holds some non-stable assets, primarily ETH-denominated, which are hedged with a short ETH position on Compound.
The treasury does not account for INDEX as an asset.
Revenue & Costs
Index Coop averaged $40,688 per month in net revenue across Q3, a decline of 6.9% from the prior quarter. Payroll costs averaged $221,960 per month, representing an increase of 3.09% and a revenue-to-labor of 18.33%. As of the end of Q3, Index Coop’s base case for runway stands at approximately 25 months.
KPIs
At the end of Q3, Index Coop had $49.3m in TVL, a decline of 20.8% throughout the quarter.
During the quarter, Index Coop experienced net outflows of $3.66m. This is primarily due to the market’s decreased interest in the leverage liquid staking strategy strategies - which are currently unprofitable - and that is negatively impacting icETH flows.
Throughout the quarter, the price of INDEX declined from $1.41 to $0.94. This represents a decline of 33.3% in USD terms and 18.6% in ETH terms.
INDEX Price
Product Updates
In Q3, the Product team was focused on bringing some of our biggest product partnerships to fruition and also leveraging the newest protocol capabilities. Several important products were also advanced from the Research stage to the Development stage, with target launch dates in Q4 2023. For higher fidelity and transparency, our forward-looking Roadmap can be found on our website now as well; it includes Product as well as Protocol initiatives.
Large Cap Crypto Index ($ic21): launched in Q3, $ic21 provides diversified exposure to the top ten crypto assets measured by market capitalization; this includes non-EVM-native assets thanks to our partnership with 21.co and their wrapped token technology. $ic21 is also the first product to natively use auction rebalancing as well as RFQ-enabled liquidity via 0x.
CoinDesk ETH Trend Index ($cdETI): scheduled for launch in Q4, $cdETI is designed to track CoinDesk’s ETH Trend Indicator and effectively tokenize a momentum strategy around it. Based on indicator values, the token will automatically rebalance between ETH and USDC to dampen volatility and protect against prolonged downturns in the price of ETH. $cdETI will utilize several new features including the delegated manager system on Index Protocol and an automated keeper for rebalancing.
Index Coop Treasury Bill Index (icTBILL): scheduled for launch in Q4, $icTBILL is a stablecoin yield product that provides diversified exposure to onchain treasury bill tokens and protocols. $icTBILL is also being developed with the same partner organization as $icREAL, and it will share new features like flexible weights, onchain KYC, and unique issuance and redemption processes. In Q3, we finalized the methodology, deployed a staging vault, and made meaningful improvements to the infrastructure after initial testing.
Real World Assets Index (icREAL): also scheduled for launch in Q4, $icREAL is a stablecoin yield product that provides diversified exposure to private credit positions across the leading RWA protocols. $icREAL is being developed with a partner organization and will have a variety of new features like flexible weights, onchain KYC, and unique issuance and redemption processes. In Q3, we continued to collect customer research, refine the methodology, and scope the necessary upgrades to our app.
Diversified ETH Yield Index (icDEY): $icDEY will give token holders diversified exposure to different ETH yield strategies on Base, including leveraged staking, liquidity providing, and others. It will be the Coop’s first experimental product launched natively on the Index Protocol deployment on Base. $icDEY is tentatively scheduled for launch in late Q4 2023, though several component strategies–like leveraged cbETH staking–have already been deployed; research and backtesting were initiated in Q3 in addition to the component product deployment.
Protocol Updates
Deployed Protocol on Base: As part of Onchain Summer, Index Coop successfully launched protocol contracts on the Base platform. This strategic deployment positions Index Coop for an expanded presence on the L2 chain.
Deployed Auction Rebalance Module: Following the successful development and testing phase in Q2, Index Coop has now fully deployed the Auction Rebalance Module on the Ethereum and Base network. This deployment underscores the Coop’s commitment to refining and optimizing token rebalancing operations.
Deployed Delegated Manager System on Ethereum: Index Coop has deployed the Delegated Manager System on the Ethereum network. This system adds role-based controls and introduces reusable global extensions to the Index protocol ecosystem. This deployment paves the way for diverse and scalable integrations in the future.
Marketing Updates
Launched ic21 token
In September we launched the Index Coop Large Cap Index (ic21), the first ever Ethereum based cross-chain large cap index. ic21 is powered by 21.co wrapped assets and the first product built on 0x’s new RFQ liquidity. As part of our launch, Index Coop Head of Institutions, Jordan Tonani, participated in a Permissionless talk along with 21.co CEO Hany Rashwan and Adam VandenBoogard from Copper. Our launch campaign got over 50K impressions on Twitter.
Develop app roadmap and strategy
In Q3 we launched the new roadmap page on the website. The roadmap page is designed to provide visibility into the status of major products in our pipeline, and capture email for users who are interested in our upcoming products. Our roadmap page was featured at our September Community Call and will include more information on App/UI projects soon
Migrated marketing activities to Hubspot
In Q3, we migrated marketing communications to Hubspot. Using Hubspot has improved visibility into marketing and partnership activities org-wide. It has also helped us create seamless integration across marketing, partnerships, social and website, and enabled us to use more advanced audience segmentation and campaign tools. We have also realized efficiency gains and cost savings by reducing the total number of tools we were using.
Pre-launch demand generation
In Q3 we experimented with pre-launch demand generation campaigns. We created and distributed surveys on crypto’s top themes, in particular real world assets, to both gauge and generate demand and engagements. We received 172 responses on our icREAL survey, 81 on ETH-BTC survey, and 18 on our cdETI survey.
Revamped customer research process
In Q3, we revamped Customer Research initiatives to better inform the evolving Product Development Process. Customer Research, including a combination of individual customer interviews, widely distributed surveys and wallet research helps validate the defined value proposition, target customer and distribution channels. In addition to informing the Product Development Process and gauging interest for new products, the customer research also helps inform the creation of any necessary marketing collateral to fill identified education gaps
Partnerships Updates
Paid ads not a fit for current market conditions
In Q3 we ran paid ad campaign experiments on Reddit and LinkedIn. The results were not promising. We have determined that, for now, paid ads are not a winning strategy.
Partnerships
Q3 marked a significant step forward with the announcement of two major partnerships: collaborations with 21.co and CoinDesk Indices. Our team also worked to expand integration efforts, draw closer to active crypto asset allocators, and lay the foundation for our upcoming Real World Asset index. Our primary focus remains the same: increase Index Coop’s brand awareness and boost TVL through strategic education, collaborative product development, and listings on prominent DeFi and CeFi platforms.
Finalizing Major Product Partnerships
In Q3, our partnership with 21.co was finalized, leading to the launch of the first ever Ethereum based cross-chain Large Cap index, $ic21. This achievement, which was the outcome of months of dialogues and collaborations, enabled the creation of an innovative cross-chain product and expanded our brand visibility. In Q4, we aim to harness this partnership to unveil new distribution avenues.
Months of collaboration with CoinDesk Indices, a respected crypto index provider, resulted in a partnership on an innovative token product centered around their Ethereum Trend Indicator. This collaboration boosts our potential distribution, brand awareness, and product innovation. This also marks the first in what we hope is a suite of products backed by CoinDesk Indices, and positions us well to engage with intermediaries looking to offer their customers new and innovative products.
Last, we ended Q3 establishing a partnership with eToro, which is set for a Q4 launch. This collaboration allows eToro users access to a diverse crypto portfolio and is the foremost of several ongoing conversations we have with the eToro team.
Integrations Are Still Challenging
Mirroring some of the challenges in Q2, we saw few breakthroughs or launches in terms of integrations and listings, attributed largely to regulatory concerns, low volumes and lack of demand for onchain structured products. Efforts to incentivize integrations with compliant revenue share have seen limited success also, due to macro and volumes. In Q4, we are focusing on high-quality platforms in the European, LATAM, and APAC regions, spurred by the recent launch of $ic21 and the forthcoming introduction of $cdETI and $icREAL.
An “IRL” Product Launch
Our partnership with 21.co took center stage at Permissionless II in Austin, Texas, during a live panel discussion featuring representatives from Copper, 21.co, and Index Coop. This marked our first effort to utilize a major conference as a springboard for a product launch, a venture that provided us with valuable insights and from which we’ve created video content to help secure partnerships with other institutions.
Laying the Groundwork for Real World Asset Indices
Alongside a partnership with AlloyX, we plan to launch a suite of products in a brand new sector; real world assets. Two RWA yield tokens are now in the testing phase including a public credit product called icTBILL and private credit product called icREAL. Our product team and AlloyX, a Circle Ventures backed RWA Protocol, have been working on novel infrastructure allowing us to access a wide universe of real world assets.
Nurturing Relationships with Crypto Asset Allocators
In Q3, we continued our outreach to institutional crypto asset allocators. Our partnerships team deepened engagements with DAO treasuries, onchain whales, and introduced conversations with a new segment: “agile funds.” These are nimble off-chain fund managers who could utilize Index Coop tokens to enhance their allocation strategies. This strategic outreach created direct lines of communication with 10+ quality asset allocators, setting the foundation for potential new N$F flows during a more positive market.
Conclusion
While the macro environment remained challenging, Q3 saw the Index Coop deliver a number of recent projects from our engineering and product teams, in the form of protocol updates and deployed products. The marketing team promoted these products, while Marketing and Partnerships colleagues also brought a couple of major and long-worked-on partnerships to fruition in the form of 21co and CoinDesk. Our focus for Q4 is to:
- Secure integrations and listings for ic21
- Launch cdETI and maximize the partner value of CoinDesk
- Announce partnership with eToro and feature the first product partnership
- Move RWA products closer to launch
- Publish more thought leadership content
- Release new Index Coop app updates