Singapore to become Asia’s benchmark for bitcoin pricing 

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) is creating two new cryptocurrency indexes with the goal of setting the pricing standard for bitcoin and ethereum in Asia.

SGX’s iEdge Bitcoin Index and iEdge Ethereum Index will use inputs from exchanges determined by CryptoCompare, according to the methodology. The aim is for the gauges to become reference points for trading in those cryptocurrencies during Asian hours, according to SGX’s Head of Index Services Simon Karaban.

“It’s important to bring transparency to this segment of the market,” Karaban said in an interview. In addition, regulators in Asia are more receptive to creation of derivatives products if they’re on regulated exchanges, he said.

Venues used in pricing as of the launch are itBit, Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, Liquid, Bitfinex, OKCoin, LMAX and Cex.io, according to SGX.

The methodology uses Crypto- Compare’s due diligence, which gives bigger weightings to high-liquidity exchanges over low-liquidity counterparts. The price is calculated at the 4pm-close in Singapore and the exchange will switch to real-time values in about eight weeks, Karaban said.

While crypto trading is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on some venues, the SGX indexes will be calculated on weekdays only.

Digital-asset tracker funds managed about US$4.5 billion (RM18.68 billion) as of June, according to a statement from Crypto-Compare on Tuesday. Asian fiat-crypto trading pairs now account for 43% of total global spot volumes.

Source: The Malaysian Reserve

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