Bitmain Launches ‘Crypto Index’ Tracking

by Simon Briggs

The Bitmain Crypto Index (BCI) gives real-time price information, which is refreshed every second, as well as the daily reference price. Bitmain‘s users are now able to track the movement of the top seventeen cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization.

Bitmain released a methodology paper alongside its index, stating that the purpose of BCI is to provide a transparent, timely, methodology-based, and investable benchmark of the most active cryptocurrencies traded globally to institutional and retail investors.

Furthermore, the paper reveals that BCI is a property of Bitmaintech Pte. Ltd. Bitmain also established the Bitmain Index Operating Committee (BIOC) for the administration of the index. BIOC’s role will be to establish connections with investors in the index for feedback and possible improvements in the index or the methodology.

Earlier this month, Bitmain’s co-founder Jihan Wu was accused of taking a leading role in Bitcoin Cash’s (BCH) hard fork. Accusations state that Wu and Bitmain have “pushed” the Bitcoin Cash community into the split, driven by the aim to sell more mining rigs.

Speaking of hard forks, in the methodology of the BCI index, Bitmain is offering new hard forks a ten-day grace period. Bitmain will introduce a set of criteria for the new token, which will measure the fork for “significance”. Also, the coin has to be traded on two different exchanges, and have at least 200 exchanges per day in the ten-day grace period, whether in USD or equivalent currency.

Bitmain’s plans for an initial public offer (IPO) in Hong Kong are still alive, but financial specialists doubt that such an event could happen soon.