Crypto Index

Pretty cool to hear the news about the launch of the COIN50 Index from Coinbase, a new market cap-weighted tool tracking the top 50 crypto assets on the exchange.

Launched in partnership with Market Vector Indexes, the COIN50 aims to standardise the tracking of digital assets and is ostensibly positioning itself to be the crypto version of the S&P 500.

Indexes are core to TradFi because they provide investors with a benchmarked view of market segments. Think S&P 500 for equities – investors rely on indexes to gauge performance, reduce volatility, and support long-term strategies.

But, to be clear, this is *not* the first metric tracking the crypto market, as CoinDesk and Bloomberg both have their own index fund-like benchmarks in the space. But COIN50 is the first to be launched by a bedrock crypto-native market participant. Further, it's yet another sign of the institutionalisation of digital assets and highlights that there's room in the market for more index products.

Finally, this is only going to add more momentum to crypto ETF product launches which are now only just hitting their stride in the US, particularly when compared with the more exotic selection of crypto ETPs available in Europe.