Kristen Mierzwa: The Russell Is Going Onchain 24/7 (Insider Take)

Russell’s digital-asset work began in 2017, based on the view that blockchain would change financial markets. In 2019, the index provider began calculating 24/7 prices for 500 digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and LINK. Russell works with Chainlink to publish its data on blockchains and is pursuing four or five additional projects with Chainlink beyond standard data services. Mierzwa said Chainlink’s interoperability allows one Russell data source to reach networks including Ethereum, Avalanche, and Stellar.

Mierzwa argued that traditional asset classes also need trusted, transparent prices beyond regular market hours. Russell calculates indices across equities, fixed income, commodities, convertibles, and private markets, and she said index providers and exchanges should make a 24/7 Russell 3000 price available. Perpetual oil trading on Hyperliquid illustrates demand for traditional-asset exposure outside standard hours. The interviewer noted a potential access imbalance: after-hours price discovery may create opportunities mainly available to participants connected through prime brokers, banks, or market makers.

Russell 2000 data is being used for OTC swaps on the Canton network through DriftNexus, and Russell is working with DTCC to tokenize Russell 1000 constituents, initially using the index as a pick list. The Russell 1000 comprises the 1,000 largest U.S.-listed equities by market capitalization, has no screening or quality filters, and adds IPOs quickly. Mierzwa said that speed is useful for tokenization and cited interest in SpaceX tokens. The index is live, but it has not yet been tokenized.

Mierzwa said current demand for tokenized products comes mainly from outside the U.S. Many U.S. products are tied to special purpose vehicles, are not fungible, and lack a secondary market, while U.S. investors can already access the Russell 1000 during market hours. She described this as a mismatch between supply and demand, and expects access to broaden globally and liquidity to develop as markets open up. Those outcomes are expectations, not a description of current U.S. market conditions.

The potential benefits extend beyond 24/7 trading to composability, securities lending, and more mobile collateral. Clients are exploring portfolios that combine Bitcoin, gold, commodity ETFs, and other assets, including commodities linked to AI-related energy demand. One proposed intraday-repo approach would use collateral that trades around the clock—potentially money market funds, stablecoins, gold, and Bitcoin—to support an interest rate such as SOFR. These are areas of exploration rather than established products described in the discussion.

Russell plans to expand its coverage beyond 500 digital assets to include more real-world assets and stablecoins, increasing stablecoin coverage from 12 to 95 before the end of the year. Digital-asset pricing currently relies on centralized-exchange feeds, and Russell is working to incorporate decentralized-exchange prices for assets unavailable on centralized exchanges. Mierzwa said crypto-market rails could eventually become a primary source of price discovery for a Russell 1000 future or a Russell 1000 priced entirely from tokens. A Russell-linked product could move on-chain if asset managers such as BlackRock, State Street, or Vanguard tokenize an ETF or launch a new tokenized product; the discussion presented that path as conditional, not already in place.