Sharon Liebowitz
Former Head of Innovation, S&P Dow Jones Indices
Transparency, FTX, CeFi and DeFi
By now, the news in early November about the collapse of FTX, one of the largest global cryptocurrency exchanges, is sinking in. At S&P Dow Jones Indices, we often discuss the challenges of the cryptocurrency ecosystem and its risks across multiple dimensions. These include asset-level risks, technology risks, market risks and regulatory risks, as well…
New Crypto Indices Designed for the Asia Market
Cryptocurrencies were designed to be decentralized and borderless, and different regions have different rates of adoption and use. In Asia, a new report by Accenture titled “Digital assets: Unclaimed territory in Asia”1 reported that 52% of affluent investors held digital assets as of Q1 2022, and the percentage was expected to rise to 73% by…
A Risk Control Approach to Cryptocurrencies: A Tool for a Crypto Winter
Earlier this year, we reported on the volatility of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies overall. In February 2022, the market was slightly down from its all-time high in November 2021. S&P Dow Jones Indices had just launched the new S&P Bitcoin and Ethereum Dynamically Rebalancing Risk Control 40% Indices (CET Close), and we saw that risk-adjusted performance…
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Perspectives on the Current Crypto Slump
I’ll avoid the usual platitudes about the market downturn. Instead, I’d like to focus on how we can better understand the current cryptocurrency market movement by looking at the S&P Cryptocurrency Indices. First, to set the context for the current drawdown, we’ll take a look at the biggest declines in Bitcoin. Then, we’ll take a…
Why a Bitcoin Index
Since the launch of the S&P Cryptocurrency Indices in 2021, we often get asked about the difference between a price (more formally known as a reference rate) and a single-coin index. So, let me unpack this into three questions: What is a reference rate? What is a single-coin index? And especially, why is it different…
Tokens, Tokenized Funds, and the Evolution of Financial Markets
When people ask me about cryptocurrencies, or digital assets more broadly, they generally ask about what’s in the news. Sometimes, it’s about a popular meme coin (e.g., Doge); other times, it’s about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the digital artworks that are seeing surprising prices; and still other times, it’s about the new corporate structure created…
Volatility, Cryptocurrency, and a Risk Control Approach
We’ve all heard it often—that volatility is a “feature” of Bitcoin and, by extension, the cryptocurrency market in general. While not all of us would agree with calling it a feature, most would agree that there is a significant amount of volatility in the cryptocurrency market. And, depending on your role—trader, asset manager, advisor, observer—you…
Altcoins and Indices – Announcing Two Equal-Weight Indices Covering Largest Coins
In the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrencies, one area that is getting a lot of attention is altcoins (or alternative coins). Generally, altcoins refer to cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. There are thousands of distinct cryptocurrencies that offer a wide variety of exposures. For instance, altcoins power decentralized finance (DeFi), infrastructure, gaming, the metaverse,1 and more….
A Deeper Dive into the Digital Assets Ecosystem
S&P Dow Jones Indices launched the S&P Cryptocurrency Indices in May. The indices have shown historically high annualized returns accompanied by significant volatility and downside risk. One of the goals of indexing is to bring accessibility and transparency to markets, and we believe that launching indices with a trusted price provider, Lukka, has allowed market…
Digital Asset Infrastructure – Custody
Have your clients asked you about Bitcoin? Perhaps they’ve asked how to buy Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency. Maybe they’ve asked about signing up for a MetaMask wallet. Perhaps they have been confronted with choosing a centralized exchange (e.g., Coinbase) or a DEX (decentralized exchange—e.g., UniSwap). Diving into cryptocurrencies requires learning a new language involving terms…