The crypto market has entered a new phase.
While Bitcoin continues to play a foundational role, today's onchain economy is increasingly shaped by multiple networks with distinct technical and economic characteristics. Different Layer-1s now dominate different verticals—from payments and DeFi to derivatives and tokenized assets.
Introducing NX8—a tokenized Layer-1 index issued and operated by OpenDelta in strategic partnership with Nansen
What Is NX8?
NX8 is a tokenized Layer-1 index product issued and operated by OpenDelta. It tracks eight major Layer-1 blockchains that are central to real, sustained onchain usage. The initial composition includes:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Solana
- BNB Chain
- TRON
Hyperliquid - Avalanche
- Sui
Rather than concentrating exposure on a single network, NX8 is built to represent the broader Layer-1 landscape as it exists today, where different chains specialize in different roles, users, and applications.
The index methodology is provided independently by GMCI, using transparent, rules-based criteria. Nansen's role includes validator operations that stake the underlying assets, informing index construction with onchain analytics built on 500M+ labeled addresses, and bootstrapping the product with our community.
Why a Layer-1 Index Now?
For much of crypto’s history, Bitcoin has served as the default benchmark. But as onchain activity has diversified, so has the source of value creation.
Different Layer-1s now dominate different verticals:
- Payments and stablecoin settlement
- High-throughput trading and derivatives
- DeFi liquidity and composability
- Tokenized assets and capital markets
NX8 is designed to capture this reality.
It reflects an opinionated view that the long-term shape of crypto is multi-chain, and that systemic exposure can offer a more complete picture of onchain adoption than any single asset alone.
Importantly, NX8 is intended as a complementary building block, not a replacement for holding individual assets. It provides a way to track the performance of leading Layer-1s together, based on observable onchain fundamentals.
How the Index Works
NX8 follows a rules-based methodology defined by GMCI. Constituents are weighted by market capitalization capped at 20%, rebalanced every quarter, and the index is reviewed every six months to reflect changes in market structure.
This approach prevents any single network from dominating the index while allowing the composition to evolve as usage and market relevance shift. Networks may be added, removed, or reweighted based on long-term performance and emerging Layer-1s with proven traction.
All reviews follow pre-set criteria, ensuring consistency and transparency.
Read the full FAQ on Nansen Academy.
Staking Infrastructure and Yield Mechanics
Beyond price exposure, NX8 is designed to be productive onchain.
A portion of the underlying assets represented by the index is staked natively where applicable. These assets are delegated to Nansen-operated validator infrastructure, enabling participation in network consensus while generating staking rewards.
Key points to note:
- Yield is derived from native network staking, not from leverage, lending, or guarantees
- Staking rewards vary by network and are dependent on protocol-level conditions
- Bitcoin exposure uses separate yield-generation strategies, distinct from proof-of-stake delegation. The risk profile of these strategies is comparable to staking, and this might happen from time to time.
NX8 generates native staking yield at the protocol level, net of applicable fees. Holders can access this yield by participating in DeFi platforms — more details coming soon.
Built for Onchain Composability
NX8 is issued using LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard, making it natively multichain compatible.
The product is launched on Solana and is accessible across the Solana ecosystem, including major decentralized exchanges and aggregators. Because NX8 is a freely transferable onchain token, it can also be integrated into third-party DeFi applications where supported, such as for liquidity provision or collateral use, subject to the rules of those protocols.
Transparency and Custody
To support transparency, OpenDelta has partnered with Accountable to provide real-time verification of the assets underlying NX8. Users can independently verify TVL, underlying asset composition, NAV, and token supply onchain.
Institutional-grade custody is supported through regulated digital asset custodians, including Anchorage, ForDeFi and Hex Trust. The product structure is designed to be bankruptcy-remote, with clear separation between issuance, custody, and analytics.
A New Phase for Nansen
OpenDelta is the first protocol launched under Joint Venture Protocol —an initiative to co-create and co-fund protocols that matter with partners we believe in.
Each JVP is bootstrapped with our community, meaning Nansen Points holders are stakeholders from day one.
Starting with NX8, Points holders gain direct exposure to the first live JVP, with ongoing alignment to protocol-level upside and early participation as the ecosystem matures.
With NX8, Nansen applies its onchain data, labeling, and validator expertise to help shape how onchain exposure products are designed and operated.
By combining professional index methodology, onchain composability, institutional-grade infrastructure, and community ownership, NX8 represents our vision for how the future of onchain finance should be built - transparently, collaboratively, and with the community in mind.
This is just the beginning. NX8 establishes the model for how we'll continue to shape onchain infrastructure through future Joint Venture Protocols.
