S&P Dow Jones Indices, a division of S&P Global, plans to launch a new hybrid index that combines traditional capital markets with digital assets, offering a new option for investors looking to navigate the rapidly changing crypto sector, the company announced Tuesday.
The S&P Digital Markets 50 Index will track 35 publicly traded companies involved in crypto infrastructure, blockchain applications and financial services, along with 15 cryptocurrencies drawn from S&P’s existing Broad Digital Market Index. The result is a cross-stakeholder benchmark that captures the performance of the companies building the digital asset ecosystem and the tokens that power it.
Dinari, a platform that taps US public stocks, collaborated on the design of the index and will issue a token, called “Dshare”, to allow investors to track the index directly on-chain. The token is designed to be transparent and accessible on blockchain platforms.
The move reflects a broader trend: Institutional investors are increasingly treating digital assets as part of their core portfolios, not just speculative bets. “From North America to Europe to Asia, market participants are beginning to treat digital assets as part of their investment toolkit,” said Cameron Drinkwater, director of products and operations at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
In practical terms, the index could appeal to investors who want exposure to crypto without going all in on volatile tokens.
Crypto stocks have surged in popularity this year as a wave of digital asset companies go public and US regulators begin to provide clearer rules for the industry. Investors appear to be responding to both the improved regulatory outlook and the addition of crypto-related business models. Coinbase (Coin) is up 50% in the year it will be made. Meanwhile, Robinhood (Hood), which has expanded its crypto offerings and acquired a crypto exchange earlier this year, has seen its shares rise more than 250% since January.
Dinari’s tokenization effort also represents a push to modernize how the investment index works.
“We are not just tokenizing an index, we are demonstrating how blockchain infrastructure can modernize trusted benchmarks,” said Anna Weblewska, chief business officer at Dinari.
The Digital Markets 50 joins S&P’s growing list of crypto-related indices and may signal a larger shift in how digital and traditional finance continue to merge.
The release date has not been announced.
