Grayscale Investments, an American digital currency asset management firm, teamed up with FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, to launch five new cryptocurrency indexes. The companies said these benchmarks will track the performance of different crypto sectors in the blockchain ecosystem, such as financials, smart contract platforms, consumer and culture, and more.

As per CoinDesk, a number of indexes act as the basis for ETFs and other exchange-traded products. With the partnership with FTSE Russel, Grayscale Investment is also looking to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into ETFs.

The 5 New Crypto Indexes

There are five distinct Crypto Sector Indices: Currencies, Smart Contract Platforms, Financials, Consumer & Culture, and Utilities & Services. The Crypto Sector Indices include coverage of over 150 protocols and will be reassessed quarterly to reflect the dynamic nature of the crypto asset class.

The new indexes will divide more than 150 cryptocurrencies into five areas and these are FTSE Grayscale Currencies Crypto Sector Index, FTSE Grayscale Smart Contract Platforms Crypto Sector Index, FTSE Grayscale Financials Crypto Sector Index, FTSE Grayscale® Consumer & Culture Crypto Sector Index, and FTSE Grayscale Utilities & Services Crypto Sector Index.

Pension & Investments reported that New York-based crypto data company, Digital Asset Research, will provide data for the new indexes. The 150 protocols included in the coverage will also be reassessed every quarter to study the high-powered nature of the crypto asset class.

The Goal of Grayscale and FTSE Russell’s Cooperation

Grayscale Investments and FTSE Russell agreed to a partnership to help investors with the categorization and analysis of the crypto ecosystem. Later on, they may also create various tools and structures that will further help with the business and for investors to make more informed investment decisions.

“Investors have increasingly expressed interest in diversifying beyond crypto’s largest assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, and many look to Grayscale to better understand this robust, evolving asset class,” Michael Sonnenshein, chief executive officer at Grayscale, said in a press release. “Grayscale Crypto Sectors formalizes our specialized view of the crypto landscape, and we are thrilled to partner with FTSE Russell to make this framework actionable in the form of indices. Together, our brands will bring the rigor of traditional finance to crypto.”

Fiona Bassett, FTSE Russel CEO, also commented, “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Grayscale. With our shared expertise, we have created a sector-defining approach to capture innovation that will enable improved decision-making in this growing asset class.”

Photo by: Grayscale Press Release