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Reference Rates

Crypto reference rates for single assets

Introduction

Vinter's reference rates are developed to provide a rule-based and transparent way to capture the price of crypto assets. Each reference rate accurately tracks the price of a single asset. The reference rates are regulated, industry-adopted, auditable, manipulation resistant and frequently reviewed.
The Vinter Single Asset Reference Rates are a family of benchmarks. This methodology clearly determines what constitutes an active market for the purposes of each index, and establishes the priority given to different types of input data. The methodology takes into account factors like the size and liquidity of the market, the transparency of trading, the positions of market participants, market concentration, and the adequacy of any sample to represent the market or economic reality that the benchmark is intended to measure.

Overview

All indexes are calculated from validated transactions on selected exchanges. Index values are published soon after the time window ends. The time window during which transactions are obtained and the calculation method varies depending on the index frequency. There are three possible frequencies with which index values are updated: real-time, hourly and daily. Each index consists of the following parts.
1. 1.
Trading pair: the base and quote currency.
2. 2.
Structure: plain or composite.
3. 3.
Frequency: real-time, hourly or daily.

Plain Structure

An index with a plain structure uses transactions from one trading pair. The calculation is described below for the three frequencies real-time, hourly and daily.

Real-time

The real-time reference rate is the median price across selected exchanges.
To be precise, each Vinter real-time reference rate is updated every 10 seconds and calculated as follows.
1. 1.
Obtain validated transactions on the trading pair from selected exchanges during the last 60 seconds.
2. 2.
For each exchange, calculate its last price.
3. 3.
Take the median across all exchanges.
Using a median ensures index values are manipulation-resistant and robust against outliers.

Hourly

All Vinter hourly reference rates are calculated by taking the average of the real-time reference rates during that hour. Each hourly value is thus a Time Weighted Average Price (TWAP) of non-missing median prices.

Daily

The standard daily reference rate is a Time Weighted Average Price (TWAP) from 3 to 4 pm London time of median prices.
The standard daily reference rate is used in most Vinter indexes. Besides this standard daily reference rate, Vinter calculates a daily fixing (called VFIX) and a daily average (called VAP) for a variety of time windows, as described in the subsections VAP and VFIX below.
The daily frequency is the most important since it is used to settle regulated financial derivatives and is used in the valuation of exchange-traded products. The hourly and real-time frequencies are often used for indicative purposes. To ensure accuracy, the daily calculations must pass exhaustive validation tests.

VAP

The abbreviation for Vinter's Average Price is "VAP". The daily values are calculated by taking the average of the real-time values in a certain time window. Each daily value is thus a Time Weighted Average Price (TWAP) of non-missing median prices. The following time windows are used:
• 3 pm to 4 pm London time (the default)
• 12 am to 4 pm London time
• 3 pm to 4 pm New York time
The Bloomberg and Refinitiv identifiers for the default Vinter Average Price are as follows.
Asset
Bloomberg
Refinitiv
BTC
VBTCUSD
BTC=VNTR
ETH
VETHUSD
ETH=VNTR

VFIX

The abbreviation for Vinter's Fixing is "VFIX". The Vinter daily fixing is calculated by taking the last real-time index value before a certain time of the day. The daily fixing relies on a single real-time index value, not an average. The following daily fixings are calculated:
• 4 pm London time (the default)
• 3 pm London time
• 4 pm New York time

Illustration

Assume that the selected exchanges for btc-usd are Kraken, Coinbase, and Bitstamp. The index calculation is illustrated in the table below. The last price on Coinbase during minute 1 is denoted Pc(1). The median of the individual exchange prices during minute 1 is denoted Pm(1). In this numerical example, the first median value is $1002 and the second is$998. Notice that even though Bistamp's $700 is far away from the other exchanges it does not influence the median$998.
 i \ t t = 1 t = 2 ... t = T Coinbase (c) Pc(1) = $1001 Pc(2) =$998 ​ Pc(T) = $991 Kraken (k) Pk(1) =$1002 Pk(2) = $999 ​ Pk(T) =$992 Bitstamp (b) Pb(1) = $1004 Pb(2) =$700 ​ Pb(T) = $992 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ median Pm(1) =$1002 Pm(2) = $998 ​ Pm(T) =$992
The hourly index value is given by Pm(1) + Pm(2) + …. + Pm(T) divided by T. It is thus a TWAP of the median prices.
The real-time index value at time 15:01:00 is calculated as follows.
1. 1.
Obtain validated transactions on btc-usd form the last 60 seconds since 15:01:00 on Kraken, Coinbase, Bitstamp.
2. 2.
For each exchange, calculate its last price.
3. 3.
Take the median of the three prices.
The hourly index value at time 16:00 is calculated as follows.
1. 1.
Obtain the real-time index values from 15:00 to 16:00.
2. 2.
Calculate the average.

Mathematical Formulation

Define
$\{d\}$
as a set of trades on a given trading pair where each trade consists of the following information: timestamp, price, volume, and exchange.
A daily index value can then be expressed as a series of aggregation functions on the set trades:
$f_3(f_2(f_1(\{d\})))$
where
$f_1, f_2,f_3$
are the first, second and third aggregation function - respectively - on suitable chosen information dimensions such as (1) price, (2) exchange, and (3) time.
For Vinter's daily TWAP index value, The set of trades are grouped by exchange and divided into time-partitions (e.g. 1 minute) inside a time-window (e.g. 60 minutes). Once the trades are grouped by these three dimensions, the first, second and third aggregation functions (as illustrated in the table above) are
1. 1.
last paid price,
2. 2.
median across exchange,
3. 3.
average of the exchange-medians.
In general, other available aggregation-functions include: mean, median, volume-weighted average, volume-weighted median and last. Available time-partitions range from seconds to 24 hours. Available time-windows range from 1 to 24 hours.

Composite Structure

An index with a composite structure pools transactions from several trading pairs, whereas an index with a plain structure only uses transactions from one trading pair.
Liquid assets (such as BTC and ETH) rarely need a composite structure. Illiquid assets, however, might need to add transactions from several trading pairs to be accurately priced.
The plain bnb-usd indexes measures the price of one BNB in USD using transactions in BNB/USD, whereas the composite bnb-usd indexes measures the same price by using several trading pairs. The composite bnb-usd real-time index is calculated as the price of BNB/USDT on Binance and then converted into USD using the Vinter USD/USDT Real-time index.
Most indexes have the plain structure. Some indexes have a composite structure.
The calculation method for a composite index is as follows.
1. 1.
Obtain the relevant trading pair indexes.
2. 2.
Convert each trading pair index into USD utilizing the appropriate Vinter index as a conversion pair.
3. 3.
Apply the same calculation method as described under the previous section (e.g. for a real-time index take the median).

Eligible Assets

Assets are eligible as index constituent if they meet the eligibility criteria listed in Vinter’s benchmark statement.

Illustration

Assume we want an index for PAXG/USD when the PAXG/USD needs to be complemented with transactions from PAXG/USDT and PAXG/BTC. The calculation method for one real-time index value is illustrated in the table. The three calculation steps for paxg-usd-c-h are as follows.
1. 1.
Obtain the real-time index values for paxg-usdt-p-r and paxg-btc-p-r.
2. 2.
Convert from PAXG/USDT and PAXG/BTC into USD utilizing the Vinter USD/USDT and Vinter BTC/USD indexes, respectively.
3. 3.
Take the median of the three PAXG/USD indexes to get paxg-usd-c-r. Calculate a TWAP of 60 paxg-usd-c-r to get paxg-usd-c-h.
 Base Quote Price Conversion Pair Conversion Rate Price (\$) PAXG USD 1801 None 1 1801 PAXG USDT 1820 USDT/USD 0.99 1801.8 PAXG BTC 0.1 BTC/USD 18001 1800.1 median ​ ​ ​ ​ 1801

Naming Convention

The index naming convention is based on the trading pair, the structure and the frequency with which values are updated. The table provides an illustration of the naming convention. Note that the Vinter API might prefix “vntr” and suffix ID number(s) to each Ticker.
 btc/usdt real-time (r) btc-usdt-p-r eth/btc hourly (h) eth-btc-p-h
The p stands for primary. Certain reaference rates also has a complimentary reference rate denoted by a c.

List of Active Indexes

A full list of all active indexes is available on vinterapi.com

The Benchmark Administrator is the central recipient of input data with the ability to evaluate the integrity and accuracy of input data on a consistent basis. The Benchmark Administrator is responsible for the development of the indexes and controls all aspects of the provision of benchmarks. The Benchmark Administrator has established a permanent and effective oversight function, governance processes subject to periodic reviews and audits, policies regarding complaints, ethics, conflicts of interest and contingency, and has established a clear internal organizational structure with consistent roles and responsibilities to identify, prevent, disclose, mitigate, and manage conflicts of interest.
The Calculation Agent is an individual or entity that is responsible for determining the value of an index and/or a financial instrument. The Calculation Agent calculates the index values in accordance with the index methodology. Upon the request of the Benchmark Administrator, the Calculation Agent shall provide all information available on the composition and details of the calculation of the requested index.
The Publication Agent is an entity responsible for the publication of index values.
Vinter is the benchmark administrator, calculation agent and publication agent of this index family. Calculation agent services include development, integration and technical maintenance of benchmarks. Benchmark administrator services include legal maintenance and oversight of benchmarks. Publication services include distribution of benchmarks, methodologies and benchmark statements.

Definitions

• Crypto asset: A digital representation of value that is cryptographically secured.
• Base currency: The first currency in a trading pair.
• Quote currency: The second currency in a trading pair.
• Trading pair: A pair consisting of a base and a quote currency.
• Transaction: A trade between two parties occurring on an exchange that consists of time, price, volume.
• Validated transaction: a transaction registered and validated by Vinter.
• Volume: the quantity of a transaction expressed in the base currency.
• UTC: Coordinated Universal Time.
• Selected exchange: An exchange that contributes with input data in the calculation.
• Eligible exchange: An exchange that fulfills all eligibility criteria.

Document Versions

Version 1.0

Initial version. June 22, 2020.

Version 2.0

• December 3, 2020.
• Forked from index calculation framework.
• Extended the list of eligibility criteria.
• Removed index universe.
• Renamed introduction to overview.
• Expanded the calculation section by adding frequencies.
• Added indexes with composite structure.
• Moved governance structure and maintenance into the benchmark statement.

Version 2.1

• February 23, 2021
• Changed notation to Pi(t) where i is an exchange and P is the last price.