Digital Assets - intro copy

Gain insight and access to the evolving digital assets ecosystem

The digital asset ecosystem has grown increasingly complex. Comprised of thousands of assets and a wide range of products and services across different blockchain technologies, digital assets are increasingly being used as an alternative to conventional means of payment, storage, trading, and settlement technologies. With over 50 years of expertise in data, research, and technology, MSCI takes a systematic and process-oriented approach in providing information to help you gain transparency and make better investment decisions.

Our solutions

To meet institutional investors’ demand for greater insight and transparency into the digital assets space, MSCI has introduced new Digital Asset Indexes as well as datonomy™ — a Digital Assets Taxonomy. These innovations demonstrate our commitment to bring clarity to diverse asset classes and create solutions that capture long-term, disruptive investment trends.

In collaboration with leaders in the cryptocurrency marketplace, our Digital Assets solutions provide a meaningful framework to help investors make better informed decisions.

  • A new way for institutional investors to assess exposure to the cryptocurrency marketplace
  • Establishes a common set of metrics and characteristics for evaluating digital assets
  • A diversified cryptocurrency index offering to enhance portfolio construction and asset allocation by integrating digital assets with traditional assets
 

Digital assets - Datonomy structure

datonomy™ — a new digital assets classification system

Developed in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Coin Metrics, datonomy creates a common set of metrics and characteristics, enabling investors to analyze digital assets in a consistent way. It provides investors, service providers, developers, and researchers the means to monitor market trends, analyze portfolio risk and returns, and help build new products.

datonomy structure

Class

Sector

Sub-sector

Digital Currencies

Value Transfer Coins

  • Value Transfer Coins

Specialized Coins

  • Meme Coins
  • Privacy Coins
  • Remittance Coins

Blockchain Infrastructure

Smart Contract Platforms

  • Smart Contract Platforms

Blockchain Utilities

  • Cross-Chain Interoperability
  • Network Scaling
  • Blockchain Networks

Application Utilities

  • Oracles
  • Digital Identity
  • Governance Tools
  • Software Development

Digital Asset Applications

Decentralized Finance

  • Decentralized Exchanges
  • Derivatives Trading
  • Decentralized Lending
  • Stablecoin Issuers
  • Prediction Markets
  • Asset Management
  • Crowd Funding
  • Insurance

Intermediated Finance

  • Intermediated Lending
  • Payments Platforms
  • Private Exchanges

Business Services

  • Professional Services
  • Enterprise

Information Technology

  • Data Marketplaces
  • Compute, Storage, & Privacy
  • Wallets & Messaging
  • Internet of Things

Metaverse

  • Virtual Worlds
  • Gaming
  • NFT Ecosystems

Media Services

  • Advertising
  • Content & Streaming

On-Chain Derivatives

Stablecoins

  • Fiat-Backed Stablecoins
  • Crypto-Backed Stablecoins
  • Algorithmic Stablecoins

Tokenized Assets

  • Asset-Backed Tokens
  • Synthetic Tokens

Claim Tokens

  • Liquidity Provider Tokens
  • Staked Assets
 

Digital Assets - MSCI Digital Assets

MSCI Digital Assets Indexes

The MSCI Digital Assets Indexes are the first of their kind from MSCI. They seek to track the performance of the largest digital assets by market capitalization; digital assets that utilize ex-proof-of-work blockchain consensus mechanisms; and digital assets associated with technology platforms supporting smart-contracts.

Capitalizing on the inputs from our digital assets experts,* our index tools and solutions are designed to help institutional investors navigate the digital assets market, understand the risks and challenges, and explore emerging opportunities and developments as the growing industry drives technological change.


Digital Assets - Our offerings

Our offerings

MSCI Global Digital Assets Index

Designed to represent the performance of the top 30 digital assets.

Factsheet (PDF, 106 KB) (opens in a new tab) |
Methodology (PDF, 143 KB) (opens in a new tab)

MSCI Global Digital Assets Top 20 Index

Designed to represent the performance of the top 20 digital assets.

Factsheet (PDF, 108 KB) (opens in a new tab) |
Methodology (PDF, 147 KB) (opens in a new tab)

MSCI Global Digital Assets Select Top 20 Capped Index

Designed to represent the performance of the top 20 digital assets and excludes Meme Coins subsector as per the datonomy and weights capped of the individual constituents to a maximum of 30%.

Factsheet (PDF, 141 KB) (opens in a new tab) |
Methodology (PDF, 133 KB) (opens in a new tab)

MSCI Global Digital Assets Smart Contract Index

Designed to represent the performance of the top 10 digital assets associated with Smart Contract features.

Factsheet (PDF, 136 KB) (opens in a new tab) |
Methodology (PDF, 146 KB) (opens in a new tab)

MSCI Global Digital Assets Ex Proof-of-Work Index

Designed to represent the performance of the top 10 digital assets associated with consensus mechanisms other than ‘Proof-of-work’.

Factsheet (PDF, 137 KB) (opens in a new tab) |
Methodology (PDF, 152 KB) (opens in a new tab)
 

Digital assets - three boxes

*Our indexes leverage insights based on collaboration with experts in key areas

  • Menai Financial Group

    Our collaboration with Menai Financial Group (“Menai”), a leading provider of institutional-grade digital asset investment products and trading services, comes at a time when institutional investors are increasingly considering opportunities within the digital asset class.

    Menai’s expertise supports MSCI’s development of the innovative solutions that institutional investors can leverage to navigate this market, better understand the risks and challenges, and capitalize on emerging opportunities and developments as the rapidly growing industry drives technological change. This collaboration aims to help institutional investors identify and understand the investment universe for digital assets and the relationship between digital assets and traditional assets.

  • Compass Financial Technologies

    Compass Financial Technologies (“Compass Financial”) is a leader in the design, calculation and publication of market benchmarks, financial indices, and tailor-made quantitative investment strategies. Currently, Compass has a wide offering of Digital Assets Indexes.

    MSCI’s relationship with Compass Financial marks an important milestone for our broader Digital Assets Strategy. Content from Compass Financial underpins our first Digital Asset Indexes. These new multi-coin cryptocurrency indexes will be constructed by combining several Compass Financial Technologies single-coin indexes, providing investors a diversified cryptocurrency index offering.

  • University of Cambridge

    The University of Cambridge has been at the forefront of academic study and research for over eight centuries. Their discoveries and innovations across multiple fields of study have changed the world immeasurably. MSCI is a sponsor to and participants of Cambridge’s Digital Assets Program, established by the Cambridge Center of Alternative Finance (CCAF), which conducts research and develops metrics related to digital assets, specially their climate impact.


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