S&P Dow Jones Indices launches Cryptocurrency Index Series

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S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), the world’s leading index provider, on Tuesday launched a new series of digital asset benchmarks- the S&P Digital Market Indices. These indices aim to measure the performance of digital assets listed on recognized open cryptocurrency exchanges ranging from Bitcoin to Ethereum.

The index series currently include S&P Bitcoin Index for measuring the performance of Bitcoin, S&P Ethereum Index for measuring the performance of Ethereum and the S&P Cryptocurrency MegaCap Index for measuring the performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum digital assets. The press release stated that S&P Digital Market Indices series will also include additional coins and broader-based indices such as large-cap and broad market benchmarks.

“Traditional financial markets and digital assets are no longer mutually exclusive markets,” said Peter Roffman, Global Head of Innovation and Strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “As cryptocurrency becomes more mainstream, investors now have access to reliable and transparent benchmarks backed by institutional quality pricing data. We look forward to further expanding our new family of Digital Market Indices and bringing much-needed transparency to this exciting market.”

In addition to the new S&P Digital Market Indices, S&P DJI also launched customized cryptocurrency indexing solutions at the end of last year. Since then in the first quarter of 2021, IDX Insights launched a series of risk-managed custom cryptocurrency indices – the first based on S&P DJI’s custom cryptocurrency indexing capabilities.

The announcement has come at a time when the cryptocurrency future looks dim in India, as many big banks have severed their relationships with cryptocurrency exchanges. For instance, recently, after ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank has stopped offering services to cryptocurrency exchanges. The timing of withdrawal has raised many questions as the Supreme Court last year in March set aside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular dated April 6, 2018, which banned cryptocurrency trading in India. In the absence of any further clarification from RBI, cryptocurrency exchanges have requested the regulator to clear its stance on whether banks in India can service the crypto industry or not.