S&P Dow Jones Indices launches new cryptocurrency indexes

The S&P Cryptocurrency Broad Digital Market Index is being launched alongside four other benchmarks that track cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization.

S&P Dow Jones Indices, the leading index provider of some of the world’s largest equity benchmarks, has launched a new cryptocurrency index that tracks the performance of the broader digital asset market. 

The S&P Cryptocurrency Broad Digital Market Index, or BDM, tracks more than 240 digital assets at launch and represents an expansion of the firm’s recently launched crypto benchmarks.

In addition to BDM, the company also launched four other crypto-focused indexes on Tuesday, each tracking various components of the broad digital market benchmark. These include:

• S&P Cryptocurrency LargeCap Index
• S&P Cryptocurrency BDM Ex-MegaCap Index
• S&P Cryptocurrency BDM Ex-LargeCap Index
• S&P Cryptocurrency LargeCap Ex-MegaCap Index

All the indexes rely on pricing information from Lukka, a crypto-focused data provider, to determine the composition of each respective benchmark.

"The expansion of our Digital Market Indices family gives one of the broadest snapshots yet of this rapidly growing asset class with the ability to slice and dice by market cap,” said Peter Roffman, the global head of innovation and strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

S&P Dow Jones Indices first revealed its intent to track cryptocurrency prices in December 2020. Indexes tracking the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) debuted in May of this year.

Related: S&P launches cryptocurrency indexes, debuting with Bitcoin and Ether

By recognizing cryptocurrencies and developing pricing benchmarks for investors to use, Dow Jones Indices brings a new level of legitimacy to the evolving digital asset market. For many investors in the cryptocurrency space, broader recognition from Wall Street could catalyze the sector to new highs in terms of adoption and value.