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An on-chain index fund does not have one universal price formula. “Price” may mean the index level, the fund’s net asset value (NAV) per token, or the amount traders are paying for that token on an exchange. The index follows its published basket rules; NAV accounts for the fund’s actual assets and liabilities; and a market price is set by trading. To understand a particular fund, check its methodology and governing documents.
What does “price” mean?
Three distinct figures can appear in a fund dashboard or market listing. They are related, but they are not interchangeable.
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- Index level: A benchmark value calculated from constituent-asset prices and the index’s rules for weights or units. It measures the basket’s performance.
- NAV per share or token: The value of the fund’s assets, after subtracting liabilities and accrued expenses, divided by its outstanding shares or tokens.
- Market price: The price buyers and sellers agree on when the fund token trades on a venue. Supply, demand, and available liquidity affect this trading price; it is not simply the index formula or NAV calculation.
These distinctions matter because an index can rise while a fund’s NAV also reflects cash, fees, liabilities, or pending transactions. A token’s traded price is a further, separate figure. The cited sources explain calculation methods, but do not establish whether any particular token trades at a premium or discount to NAV.
How an index level can be calculated
For an index with fixed weights between rebalances, one way to express its value is:
Index value now = index value at last rebalance × sum(weight at rebalance × current constituent price ÷ constituent price at rebalance)
In plain terms, each asset’s price change since the last rebalance is multiplied by its weight, and the weighted changes determine the index’s current level. The exact formula depends on the provider’s rules.
Cryptex Finance describes an equivalent units-and-divisor approach: index value = sum(units_i × current price_i) ÷ divisor. The divisor is adjusted when the basket is rebalanced so that changing its composition does not, by itself, create a jump in the published index level. This is Cryptex’s methodology, not a universal standard. See its GTC Index Methodology.
How NAV per token is calculated
NAV is an accounting measure of the fund, not just a restatement of its benchmark. In broad terms:
NAV = value of holdings + cash and receivables − liabilities − accrued expenses
NAV per share or token = NAV ÷ outstanding shares or tokens
Chainlink’s general explanation describes smart contracts obtaining asset prices, calculating gross assets, subtracting programmed liabilities, and dividing by the fund’s outstanding tokens. The details depend on the fund’s implementation; see Chainlink’s tokenized-funds overview.
A 2026 SEC filing for Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund illustrates how fund-specific accounting can add detail: the described calculation values component holdings using index prices, accounts for cash and pending creations or redemptions, subtracts expenses and accrued management fees, and reports NAV and NAV per share. That filing describes this fund, not every on-chain index fund. Consult the relevant fund documents for its treatment of holdings, flows, and expenses. SEC filing.
Where the prices and weights come from
The formula needs two kinds of inputs: rules defining the basket and prices for its constituents. Providers can use different sources, aggregation methods, and update schedules, so the word “index” alone does not tell you how a displayed value was produced.
| Example | Published approach |
|---|---|
| Cryptex Finance | Its methodology uses Chainlink price feeds and calculates index value from constituent units or weighted price movements since rebalance. Methodology. |
| Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund | The 2026 SEC filing describes a composite index price based on trading-platform prices, with input weighting intended to account for volume and price deviations. Its stated algorithm uses constituent trading-platform prices calculated every five seconds over a 24-hour period. These are details of the filing’s fund and index. SEC filing. |
| Bitwise | Its general methodology says crypto indexes use Lukka Prime Intraday prices; the Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index section specifies the CME CF Cryptocurrency Reference Rate (New York Variant). It also describes free-float-adjusted market-cap weighting and rules for forks, emissions, airdrops, and staking rewards. Methodology. |
| Kaiko | Its ETF reference rates combine a volume-weighted median and a time-weighted average price, using time partitions, outlier-resistant medians, and greater weight for more recent partitions. Kaiko says the rates can be published on-chain and are updated every five seconds. ETF reference rates. |
When examining a fund, look for the price benchmark or oracle, how constituent prices are aggregated, when values are updated, how assets and weights are selected, and how the rules handle expenses, rewards, and unusual events.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What a rebalance changes—and what it does not
A rebalance can change which assets are in the index, their target weights, or the quantities held. In Cryptex’s described approach, new constituent units are calculated from target weights, the index level, and prices at rebalance time. The divisor is then reset to keep the index level continuous across the change.
That continuity is about the index calculation; it does not guarantee that a fund token’s market price equals NAV. The fund’s own holdings and accounting determine NAV, while venue trading determines the token’s market price.
Schedules also vary. The 2026 Grayscale filing describes quarterly index and portfolio rebalancing for that fund. Bitwise’s general methodology says its indexes are ordinarily reconstituted monthly unless an index-specific rule provides otherwise. Neither schedule should be assumed for a different fund. Grayscale filing; Bitwise methodology.
How to compare two funds’ calculations
To understand why two funds tracking broad crypto markets may show different values, compare their published rules rather than relying on the label “index fund.”
- Price inputs: Which benchmark, oracle, trading platforms, or price-aggregation method supplies constituent prices? Who governs it?
- Basket construction: What qualifies an asset for inclusion, and how are constituents weighted?
- Timing: How often are prices updated, and what valuation time does the fund use?
- Rebalancing: When are constituents or weights changed, and how does the index handle continuity?
- Asset events: How are forks, emissions, airdrops, and staking rewards treated?
- NAV accounting: How are cash, fees, liabilities, and pending creations or redemptions reflected?
The fund’s methodology and governing documents are the authority for its specific calculation. Provider methodology pages can explain their index or pricing service, but they do not establish how every fund uses those inputs.
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