S&P launches Digital Markets 50 Crypto Index

S&P Global plans to launch a new benchmark index tracking a broad range of digital assets and blockchain-related companies, signaling growing awareness of the cryptocurrency sector within traditional finance.

Created in partnership with Dimenatization Company Dinari, the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index includes 15 cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of at least $300 million and 35 publicly traded companies with a market capitalization of at least $100 million.

No ingredients have been released yet, but no single component will account for more than 5% of the index. Some of the largest companies in the industry include Bitcoin Treasury Strategies (MSTR), crypto exchange Coinbase (Coin), and Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (Riot).

Cameron Drinkwater, chief product and operating officer at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said the growth of the digital asset ecosystem has transformed cryptocurrencies “from a margin to a more established role in global markets.”

Although indices are not invested directly, they are a key benchmark for tracking market performance and are often the basis for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other investment products.

Dinari plans to release a token version of the index, called “DSHARE,” which will allow investors to gain direct exposure. The investable version is expected to be released by the end of 2025.

Related: Crypto Mining, Treasury Stocks Boom as Bitcoin Booms

Index Signals Next Wave Encryption Identification

One of the key implications of S&P’s move into crypto indexing is the potential for passive ETFs to one day track the performance of the Digital Markets 50 index, much like traditional index fund mirror equity benchmarks.

For example, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF tracks the S&P 500 Index, allowing investors to gain broad market exposure through a single product.

Several crypto index funds already exist. The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) tracks the Bitwise 10 Index, which includes the largest digital assets by market capitalization.

Likewise, the U.S.-based Hashdex NASDAQ Crypto Index product, including Brazil’s Hash11, and the U.S.-based Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF (NCIQ), which tracks the NASDAQ Crypto Index in the U.S., provide diversified exposure to significant crypto products through a large number of cryptocurrencies provided by the alleged exchange freight product.

At the same time, awareness of tokenization as a transformative financial technology is growing.

As CoIntelegraph recently reported, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly exploring a framework that would allow stocks to be traded as tokenized assets on blockchain networks, potentially bringing traditional securities closer to cryptocurrency-style infrastructure.

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Related: Morgan Stanley recommends ‘conservative’ crypto allocations for certain portfolios