Chainlink, FTSE Russell Unite to Tokenize Leading Market Indexes

Chainlink announced on Monday that it has partnered with FTSE Russell to publish key equity and digital asset indexes onchain through its institutional-grade DataLink service. 

The integration will make the Russell 1000, Russell 2000, Russell 3000, and FTSE 100 Index — as well as several digital asset benchmarks — available across multiple blockchains.

Those indexes are among the most tracked in global finance, serving as key benchmarks for more than $18 trillion in assets. The partnership shows how established financial institutions are now leveraging Chainlink’s decentralized oracle technology to bring trusted, real-world financial data into the blockchain ecosystem.

Driving Institutional Tokenization and ETF Innovation

FTSE Russell CEO Fiona Bassett described the move as part of the company’s broader effort to foster “innovation around tokenized assets” and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This aligns with FTSE Russell’s continued push to merge institutional data infrastructure with blockchain-based markets.

Earlier this year, FTSE Russell rolled out a suite of digital asset indexes in collaboration with SonarX, designed to give institutional investors standardized crypto benchmarks for performance comparison and portfolio construction.

FTSE Russell digital asset indexes (Source: LSEG)

The company had previously partnered with Grayscale in 2023 to create five indexes classifying cryptocurrencies by market sector, including smart contract platforms, utilities, and consumer products, providing investors with a clearer framework to evaluate blockchain projects.

Institutional Blockchain Adoption Accelerates

The FTSE Russell–Chainlink collaboration reflects a growing trend of institutional adoption of blockchain technology in the financial sector. Global banks and asset managers are increasingly testing tokenization, settlement, and stablecoin applications to modernize financial infrastructure.

JPMorgan, for example, recently expanded its Kinexys private blockchain to tokenize private equity funds, while Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon have launched tokenized money market funds that enable 24/7 settlement and onchain ownership tracking.

In April, Citigroup noted that a clearer U.S. regulatory framework, particularly around stablecoins, is catalyzing this adoption. “The main catalyst for their greater acceptance may be regulatory clarity in the US,” Citi said, adding that it could “enable greater integration of stablecoins and blockchain more widely into the existing financial system.”

Chainlink’s Expanding Role in Institutional Finance

For Chainlink, this partnership with FTSE Russell reinforces its role as a leading oracle network bridging off-chain data with decentralized systems. By enabling trusted delivery of institutional-grade financial data, Chainlink continues to position itself as a key infrastructure provider for the next generation of onchain finance and tokenized markets.

As traditional and digital finance continue to converge, partnerships like this suggest that the future of market data may be secured not just by central databases, but by decentralized networks like Chainlink — ensuring transparency, interoperability, and accessibility across the global financial system.