Shenzhen Stock Exchange Adds Index Tracking 50 Blockchain Firms

As blockchain companies are gaining steam, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) has released a new index tracking the performance of 50 companies working in the sector.

Dubbed Blockchain 50 Index, investors can invest in the index to get exposure to the firms working on the decade-old technology.

According to the official announcement published on Wednesday, the index is tracking the performance of major companies including Ping An Bank, S.F. Holding, Visual China Group, and Midea Group.

The index was jointly released by the SZSE and its subsidiary Shenzhen Securities Information. The announcement also detailed that the chosen companies are involved in the upper, middle, and lower streams of the blockchain industry including hardware equipment, technology and services, and other applications.

The 50 companies for the index were picked based on their average daily market value during the latest six-month period. Moreover, the index is capitalization-weighted, meaning the shares have been included based on the total market capitalization of the outstanding shares.

Shenzhen Stock Exchange – The Hype over blockchain in China

The index was introduced amid the speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping in which he boosted the nascent technology and urged the country to capitalize on it.

Many major private players in the country also jumped in the development of blockchain-based products including technology giants like Tencent.

Though this is the first such index on the Chinese stock exchange, it’s United States counterpart NASDAQ has been tracking performances of crypto and blockchain stocks for a long time. In September, the New York-based exchange launched an index to track the much-hyped decentralized finance sector which includes firms like Augur, MakerDAO, Amoveo, and 0x.

Meanwhile, officials of the Chinese foreign exchange regulator recently revealed that the agency is planning to expand the scope of its blockchain-based cross-border financing platform.