The S&P Dow Jones Indices said Tuesday it has launched new cryptocurrency indexes to track market performances as mainstream acceptance of digital currencies grows.
Three indexes were launched for bitcoin and ethereum by S&P Global, the parent company of S&P Dow Jones Indices, to bring the leading crypto coins to the trading floors of Wall Street. One tracks the performance of bitcoin, another tracks the performance of ethereum, and the third measures the performance of both bitcoin and ether.
“These indices are designed to measure the performance of a selection of digital assets (crypto assets) listed on recognized, open exchanges that meet minimum liquidity and market capitalization criteria,” the company said.
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The new indexes, S&P Bitcoin Index, S&P Ethereum Index and S&P Crypto Mega Cap Index, will measure the performance of digital assets tied to them.
The list will expand to include additional coins later this year, the division of financial data provider S&P Global said.
The company first announced the plan in December when it said it would cover more than 550 of top-traded coins and that its clients will be able to create customized indices and other benchmarking tools on cryptocurrencies.
“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.
The indexes will use data from New York-based virtual currency company Lukka.
Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has seen a wild rally in prices after backing from high-profile companies including Tesla and Bank of NY Mellon. Its price, however, has come off its record highs.
Ethereum touched a record high on Monday, rising above $3,000 for the first time over the weekend. Cofounder Vitalik Buterin, a 27-year-old Russian-Canadian programmer, became a billionaire as the coin crossed the $3,000 threshold.
He holds about 333,500 ether in his public wallet. Multiply that by the $3,500 record high ether stood at on Tuesday, and you get more than $1.1 billion.
Meanwhile, Dogecoin has risen to $0.56 on Tuesday to overtake XRP as the fourth largest coin, having about $66 billion value. The meme coin, created as a joke in 2013 has enjoyed swift cruise spurred by the support of Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO has been relentless in his support for the dog coin, seeing its rally rise above 340% to beat many of the altcoins.
Cryptocurrency has garnered unprecedented enthusiasm in 2021, as institutional investors find succor in the controversial digital asset. Coinbase went public last month, igniting a new range of passion from investors. Cryptocurrency backers have spent years insisting that ethereum, bitcoin and other digital coins could revolutionize the world of finance, and with the success of Coinbase’s Wall Street debut, those backers are finally having their moment.