Importantly, the index is designed not only to provide broader exposure across the crypto market, but also to limit concentration in its largest assets. Bitcoin and ether represent a large share of total crypto market capitalization, meaning a traditional market-cap-weighted index would be dominated by those two assets.
The CoinDesk 20 Index addresses that concentration through a modified market capitalization weighting methodology. The index applies:
· 30% cap on the largest constituent
· 20% cap on all other constituents
These caps limit concentration in a single crypto asset and allow other major cryptocurrencies to play a larger role in the index.
Left: Source: CoinDesk, as of June 30, 2026. Right: ProShares hypothetical calculation using the CoinDesk 20 Index constituents, weighted by market capitalization without the index caps, as of June 30, 2026. For illustrative purposes only.
Without these caps, the index would largely reflect the performance of bitcoin and ether alone. By limiting concentration in the largest assets, the CoinDesk 20 Index creates more balanced exposure across a wider set of cryptocurrencies.
There is also a practical consideration. Building similar exposure directly would require an investor to purchase, custody and periodically rebalance a relatively large number of individual crypto assets. The infrastructure surrounding crypto custody has improved considerably, but holding multiple cryptocurrencies can still require navigating different exchanges, wallets, custody arrangements and operational considerations. An index-based approach can simplify that process while maintaining exposure to changes occurring across the broader market.
