S&P and Pantera Launch New Crypto Index With Holdings in Ether, Solana, BNB and HYPE
S&P Dow Jones Indices and Pantera Capital have launched the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index, a new benchmark designed to offer institutional investors a fundamentals-based alternative to existing crypto products.
The index uses a rules-based framework that ranks assets by their protocol revenue over the last two quarters, with a minimum $500 million market cap. It favors smart contract platforms and DeFi protocols, avoiding reliance on price momentum or brand recognition. The index launched with 18 tokens, including ether, solana, binance coin, tron, and hyperliquid (HYPE). Its largest holding is capped at 35%, and it will be rebalanced quarterly.
Bitcoin is excluded because it is not a revenue-generating protocol, according to Cathy Clay, CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices. Meme coins and other assets with limited underlying economic activity are also sidelined. The selection process is supported by blockchain data provider Artemis.
“With the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index, we bring that same discipline to digital assets,” Clay said, adding that the index helps investors focus on fundamentals and reduce market noise.
Dan Morehead, Pantera’s founder, said allocation remains the biggest friction point for global investors. The index aims to identify the assets and infrastructure that truly matter, providing a clear allocation framework.
The launch reflects the maturation of the crypto market, with clearer regulation and improving institutional access. The benchmark may serve as the basis for future investment products, enabling asset managers to build portfolios or evaluate active strategies.
By emphasizing measurable revenue and adoption, S&P and Pantera signal that the next phase of digital asset investing will be driven by fundamentals rather than speculation.