S&P Dow Jones Indices, a division of S&P Global, plans to launch a new hybrid index that blends traditional equity markets with digital assets, offering a fresh option for investors looking to navigate the fast-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, alongside 15 cryptocurrencies drawn from S&P’s existing Broad Digital Market Index. The result is a cross-asset benchmark that captures the performance of both the firms building the digital asset ecosystem and the tokens driving it.
Dinari, a platform that tokenizes U.S. public equities, collaborated on the index design and will issue a token, called a “dShare,” to let investors track the index directly on-chain. The token is designed to be transparent and accessible across 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, chief product & operations officer 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 U.S. regulators begin to provide clearer rules for the industry. Investors appear to be responding to both the improved regulatory outlook and the mainstreaming of crypto-related business models. Coinbase (COIN) has climbed 50% year-to-date. Meanwhile, Robinhood (HOOD), which has expanded its crypto offerings and acquired a crypto exchange earlier this year, has seen its stock rise more than 250% since January.
Dinari’s tokenization effort also represents a push to modernize how index investing works.
“We’re not just tokenizing an index, we’re demonstrating how blockchain infrastructure can modernize trusted benchmarks,” said Anna Wroblewska, Dinari’s Chief Business Officer.
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 launch date has not been announced.