Index Coop Review
Per-product fees published, Apache-licensed
of 10
Index Coop builds on-chain structured DeFi products — asset-backed baskets such as icETH — publishing per-product fees like a 0.75% streaming fee with 0% mint and redeem, under an Apache 2.0 licence. Its INDEX token governs the DAO.
No money changes hands. This is a non-commercial project: no advertising, no sponsored placements, and no affiliate or referral links. Links to the services below earn us nothing. Every overall score is the plain average of the criteria shown on the page, so you can check the arithmetic yourself — see our rating methodology and how the site is funded.
Function
On-chain structured DeFi products (asset-backed baskets)
Example fees (icETH)
0.75% streaming, 0% mint, 0% redeem
Backing
Asset-backed baskets, per product
Licence
Apache 2.0
Governance
INDEX token votes; timelock not stated
Scores
Each criterion carries equal weight. The overall score is the average of these 5 scores — (8.0 + 9.0 + 3.0 + 7.0 + 5.0) ÷ 5 = 6.4.
Pros
- Function stated plainly: simple, accessible, secure on-chain structured products
- Per-product fees published, e.g. icETH at 0.75% streaming, 0% mint, 0% redeem
- Index tokens are asset-backed baskets, with backing described per product
- Apache 2.0 licence on the smart contracts
- INDEX token governs product launches, changes, treasury and third-party votes
Cons
- No named audit firm could be verified on the pages read
- A governance timelock is not stated
- Fees vary by product, so no single figure applies across the protocol
Fees published per product
Index Coop builds on-chain structured products it describes as simple, accessible and secure, and publishes fees per product rather than as a single rate. Its icETH product, for instance, carries a 0.75% streaming fee with 0% mint and 0% redeem fees. A reader checking a specific product gets the specific numbers.
Asset-backed, and open source
The index tokens are asset-backed baskets — icETH, for example, multiplies Lido stETH staking rewards — with backing described per product, and the contracts carry the Apache 2.0 licence. The INDEX token governs new product launches, changes to existing products, treasury allocation and third-party protocol votes.
What is missing
No named audit firm could be verified on the pages we read, and no governance timelock is stated. Both hold their scores down and are noted in the review.
Who builds it
Index Coop was launched on 6 October 2020 as a decentralised autonomous organisation by Set Labs, the team behind Set Protocol, and it has operated as a DAO ever since, governed by holders of its INDEX token. Rather than a company issuing index products, it is a community that designs and maintains tokenised index baskets — a structure that puts the methodology of each product, not a corporate issuer, at the centre.
How it compares
Reserve
Tokenised index baskets under a permissive licence
Term Finance
Fixed-rate lending, six named audits, restrictive licence
dHEDGE
AGPL vaults with a deep audit list, now rebranding
Derive (formerly Lyra)
Options fees published in full, Sigma Prime audited
Maple Finance
Fee split published to the basis point
Goldfinch
On-chain credit, MIT, Trail of Bits audited
Nexus Mutual
On-chain capital pool, GPL-licensed
Synthetix
MIT-licensed with a published fee schedule
Ondo Finance
Thirteen named auditors on tokenised Treasuries
Sources
Scored from published primary sources rather than hands-on use. Every figure above comes from one of the pages below, on the date shown. Manufacturers change prices and specifications without notice — if something here no longer matches the source, tell us and we will correct it.
- 1.Index Coop — documentation — checked
- 2.Index Coop — icETH product (fees and backing) — checked
- 3.Index Coop — smart contracts LICENSE (Apache 2.0) — checked
- 4.Index Coop — community handbook — checked
Frequently asked questions
What does Index Coop charge?
Fees are published per product. Its icETH product, for example, carries a 0.75% streaming fee with 0% mint and redeem fees.
Is Index Coop open source?
Yes. The index-coop-smart-contracts repository carries the Apache 2.0 licence.
Nothing here is financial advice. Editorial policy · How we score · How we're funded.