HashKey Capital has partnered with index management giant FTSE Russell to provide investors with crypto exposure beyond the industry's top assets.
The Hong Kong-based crypto company worked with FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, to develop three indices that track the performance of a variety of crypto assets.
Such assets "align with more nuanced investment strategies" across different crypto segments and market capitalizations, the company said Wednesday.
While one index tracks the top 20 crypto assets by market capitalization, another targets assets that comprise the infrastructure layer of the ecosystem, related to smart contract platforms and protocol interoperability, for example.
A third benchmark focuses on cryptoassets with “application functionalities,” such as those associated with staking instruments and decentralized finance.
Index launches follow recommendations from the Securities and Exchange Commission historic bitcoin spot ETF approval in the US The products give investors an easier access point to the largest asset in the crypto market, which currently has a market capitalization of approximately $780 billion.
Some industry observers believe a US spot ether ETF could arrive later in 2024. The SEC is scheduled to rule on one or more of these proposed funds in May.
Read more: After bitcoin ETF spot approval, eyes focus on ether fund decision
But HashKey Capital CEO Deng Chao said in a statement that there has been "a significant increase in demand from investors who want to diversify their portfolios beyond established cryptocurrencies."
FTSE Russell partnered with Grayscale Investments in October as part of a similar effort to boost cryptocurrency diversification. Those indices were intended to focus on a variety of crypto sectors: currencies; smart contract platforms; finance; consumer and culture; and utilities and services.
The new indices also track Haskey Capital's parent company. HashKey Group raised $100 million in a Series A financing round with a valuation of $1.2 billion. OKX Ventures participated in the round, Bloomberg reported.
HashKey Group saying At that time, the capital would be used to accelerate product diversification for its Hong Kong business, as well as to "drive the group's innovative and compatible development globally."
Updated January 24, 2024 at 11:55 pm ET: Clarified that the fundraising was done by the parent company of HashKey Capital.
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