India’s first crypto Index called IC15 debuts on the super-app CryptoWire which will evaluate the performance of the 15 most widely traded cryptocurrencies listed on leading crypto exchanges by market capitalization. For the uninitiated, an index such as these, captures over 80 percent of market movement is essentially a market tracking and assessing tool. Through such tool, investors would be able to make better decisions and in turn ensures transparency. The announcement assumes significance as, cryptocurrencies have emerged as an asset class in themselves, gaining wider acceptance and drawing people’s interests over the past years.
Managing Director of CryptoWire, Jigish Sonagara while launching IC15 stated,
This will not only push the ‘learn before earn’ initiative but also serve the industry with yet another powerful intervention. Our approach is to facilitate market development and mitigate risk to a great degree by presenting all possible tools to evaluate possibilities and make decisions.
According to sources, the Index has been ‘designed to provide insights into crypto mining and present an accurate benchmark and a mirror of the underlying crypto market, acting as a barometer of the industry in a sense, with a diversified representation of overall market sentiments.’ But how will it work?
India’s IC15 working mechanism
Sources at CryptoWire informed that it has formed a Index Governance Committe which consists of industry and domain experts that will choose crypto assets from the top 400 by market cap. To be considered for the index, the asset must meet certain criterias such as the token must have traded on minimum 90% of the days during the review period. On top of that it should be among 100 most liquid cryptoassets and also in top 50 in terms of circulating market capitalization. Accordingly the committee will select the 15 such eligible cryptocurrencies.
Notably Indian government, Reserve Bank of India [RBI] and The Securities and Exchange Board of India or SEBI have been cautioning people about the risk factor in these virtual assets. Moreover the highly anticipated Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, which was included in the Lok Sabha Bulletin-Part II for introduction in the recently concluded Winter Session could not be introduced in Parliament by the government.