Bitwise Index Services, a subsidiary of Bitwise Asset Management, creator of the world’s first cryptocurrency index fund, announced the launch of three additional indexes that cover the midcap, small-cap, and total-market segments of the cryptoasset market. Bitwise also announced the renaming of the HOLD 10 Index, which represents the performance of the cryptocurrency market by tracking a basket of the ten most highly valued coins.
The Bitwise Crypto Index family now features:
- Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index (ticker: BITX)
- Bitwise 20 Mid Cap Crypto Index (ticker: BITW20)
- Bitwise 70 Small Cap Crypto Index (ticker: BITW70)
- Bitwise 100 Total Market Crypto Index (ticker: BITW100)
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The Bitwise Crypto indexes capture the investable cryptoasset market as measured and weighted by free-float and five-year inflation-adjusted market capitalization. The index methodology features rules that mitigate risks surrounding liquidity, security, exchange concentration, regulatory status, and more, and aim to fully capture the investable cryptomarket opportunity.
Bitwise performs extensive research on more than 250 cryptoassets in the course of building its indexes and consolidates pricing on thousands of individual crypto pairs representing 99.9% of all eligible cryptoasset volume.
“Our indexes are built from the ground up to respond specifically to the cryptomarket,” said Matt Hougan, Global Head of Research at Bitwise. “The methodology draws on best practices from the modern indexing of equities, bonds, commodities, and fiat currencies, and pairs them with crypto-native factors to ensure the indexes are safe and replicable. We believe they are the best representation of the investable cryptoasset market in the world.”
In conjunction with the launch, Bitwise also announced it was changing the name of the industry’s leading benchmark from the Bitwise HOLD 10 Index to the Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index.
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New Index Advisory Board
To provide ongoing support for the new indexes, Bitwise also announced the launch of an advisory board that features experts in the areas of institutional indexing and cryptoeconomics.
- Srikant Dash, CFA, is the former Global Head of Indexing for Bloomberg and the former Managing Director and Global Head of Research at Standard & Poor’s Indices. Today, over $200 billion in ETF assets track indexes built by Dash. He was a long-standing member of the S&P 500 Index Committee.
- Spencer Bogart, CFA, is a Partner and Head of Research at Blockchain Capital, a leading venture capital firm focused exclusively on the blockchain technology sector and crypto ecosystem. Prior to joining Blockchain Capital, he authored Wall Street’s first industry report highlighting the use cases, companies, and potential of blockchain technology as a Vice President at Needham & Company.
- Matt Hougan is the Global Head of Research at Bitwise and former CEO of both ETF.com and Inside ETFs. He helped create the world’s first ETF ratings and analytics service (which now powers FactSet’s ETF ratings), co-authored the CFA Institute’s monograph on ETFs, and appeared three times as a member of the Barron’s ETF roundtable.
“Well-constructed indexes and index-linked products are key to the development of efficient investment and risk management in any new asset class,” said Dash. “I am pleased to help Bitwise bring such tools to the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency market.”
Bitwise also announced the creation of API access and complimentary benchmarking for hedge funds, researchers, or others interested in high-quality crypto index data. As it currently stands, more than a dozen leading firms, including some of the best-known cryptoasset hedge funds in the world, benchmark against Bitwise indexes.
“One unique thing about Bitwise is the firm’s ability to blend deep, crypto-specific expertise with in-depth knowledge of institutional asset management and indexing,” said Bogart. “The Bitwise Crypto Index Advisory Board and the family of Bitwise indexes launching today are proof of that.”
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