Vienna-based cryptocurrency retail broker Bitpanda has announced the launch of “the world’s first real crypto index” that aims to make it as easy as possible for its customers to invest in various baskets of digital assets.
Just like in traditional finance, Bitpanda’s crypto index is a relatively abstract portfolio of investment holdings that represents a certain segment of the market. Its underlying assets are various leading cryptocurrencies sorted by their market capitalization and liquidity.
“Investing in cryptocurrencies doesn’t get any easier than with the Bitpanda Crypto Index. Instead of getting lost in a jungle of different assets, users can invest in the top 5, top 10 or top 25 cryptocurrencies and have the peace of mind of not missing out on anything,” said the company.
The corresponding Bitpanda’s index offerings—dubbed BCI5, BCI10 and BCI25, respectively—allow users to invest in those digital asset baskets as a whole without worrying about choosing each crypto individually.
For example, BCI5 comprises Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Polkadot (DOT). By investing in it, users can automatically buy a little bit of each crypto it consists of. However, each of Bitpanda’s new indices will be rebalanced automatically once a month using the data collected by MVIS, the index division of asset manager VanEck.
“Once a month, all three Crypto Indices are rebalanced based on the data provided by our partner MVIS. This means that the actual coins and tokens in each Index can change. This way, you always hold the most relevant and promising cryptocurrencies in your portfolio,” Bitpanda added.
Bitpanda’s customers will be able to set up a savings plan with their indices, set up automated regular buys and earn BEST, the platform’s native cryptocurrency that allows reducing trading premiums “by at least 25%.”
Despite a $48 million raise, Bitpanda’s token BEST, launched in August last year, failed miserably. During its initial exchange offering (IEO), investors paid up $0.11 per token, but its price collapsed to $0.063 as soon Bitpanda’s new exchange went live. A year later, BEST is trading at around $0,096 today—still far below its initial IEO price.
