NYSE Gives Bitcoin a Serious Leg to Stand On

By Chris Lange Updated Apr 28, 2:58AM EDT · Published May 19, 4:36PM EDT

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As the market continues to reach new highs, investors are looking for more areas to invest in, grow or diversify. A new index will to some extent break the fourth wall in terms of allowing investors to buy into or short the largest kryptocurrency on the planet.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced the launching of the NYSE Bitcoin Index (NYXBT). This will be the first exchange-calculated and disseminated Bitcoin index. The NYXBT will represent the U.S. dollar value of one Bitcoin unit based on actual transactions occurring on select Bitcoin exchanges that have been evaluated and meet NYSE’s quality standards.

The index will utilize a unique methodology that relies on rules-based logic to analyze a dataset of matched transactions and verify the integrity of the data ultimately to produce an objective and fair daily value for one bitcoin in U.S. dollars as of 16:00 London time. The index will be published within a short period after that time via the widely distributed NYSE Global Index Feed (GIF) as well as made publicly available for an initial period on the NYSE index page.

Basically, this new index will initially feature data from transactions from Coinbase Exchange, which is the leading U.S. Bitcoin exchange. In 2015, NYSE made a minority investment in Coinbase, a Bitcoin wallet and trading platform with over 2.8 million consumer wallets, 39,000 merchants and 7,000 developers.

NYSE Group President Thomas Farley commented on the new index:

Bitcoin values are quickly becoming a data point that our customers want to follow as they consider transacting, trading or investing with this emerging asset class. As a global index leader and administrator of ICE LIBOR, ICE Futures U.S. Dollar Index and many other notable benchmarks, we are pleased to bring transparency to this market. By combining our technology infrastructure with our expertise in index calculation and data management, we will continue to launch complimentary products based on our rigorous standards and proprietary index methodology.

Ultimately the NYSE Index Committee will oversee the rules and methodology behind the benchmark. The committee also will identify and review the data sources for the index calculation process as further exchanges that meet NYSE’s rigorous standards for transparency, liquidity and governance are identified.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.