
Not all crypto indexes are created equal. While some crypto indexes offer a straightforward market cap snapshot, others focus on factors like institutional investability, liquidity screens, or exchange-traded products. The CRYPTO 100 ® Index stands out by tracking the top 100 cryptoassets using a transparent rules-based methodology that merges market capitalisation with the VALT Score. This innovative framework evaluates cryptocurrency performance through factors such as volatility, adoption, liquidity, and tokenomics.
As crypto markets mature, investors increasingly need clear, rules-based benchmarks that go beyond headline price moves. The CRYPTO 100 Index is designed to provide a comprehensive view of the digital asset market, making it valuable for monitoring cryptocurrency performance, comparing trends, and benchmarking exposure against other prominent crypto indexes such as CoinDesk 100, CoinMarketCap 100, Bitwise Crypto Indexes, S&P Cryptocurrency Indices, and Nasdaq CME Crypto Indexes. What distinguishes these benchmarks is not just the number of constituents but also their methods for selecting assets, weighting holdings, and rebalancing over time. Some indexes focus on the largest and most liquid tokens, while others prioritise broader market coverage, investability, or institutional-grade pricing. Therefore, the appropriate benchmark depends on whether the aim is market representation, portfolio construction, or tradable reference pricing.

The CMC100 is designed to track the top 100 cryptoassets by market capitalisation, providing insights into cryptocurrency performance, it relies primarily on market cap as a benchmark.
In contrast, the CRYPTO 100 ® Index employs the VALT Score to refine ranking and weighting by considering factors like volatility, adoption, liquidity, and tokenomics, rather than focusing solely on size.
CMC100 serves as a broad market snapshot, showcasing how the largest segment of the crypto market is performing through a straightforward market cap approach. However, the CRYPTO 100 Index aims to go further by integrating a quality-adjusted methodology. This means that while larger assets are still significant, they do not overshadow smaller, potentially high-quality assets.
The key differences between these two crypto indexes include:
• CMC100 functions primarily as a market cap benchmark.
• The CRYPTO 100 Index combines market capitalisation with VALT scoring for a more nuanced approach.
• CMC100 is intended as a general market snapshot.
• The CRYPTO 100 Index is crafted as a quality-adjusted benchmark.
FAQs:
What is the main difference between CRYPTO 100 and CMC100?
CMC100 is mainly driven by market cap, while the CRYPTO 100 Index adjusts market cap exposure using the VALT Score.
Do both benchmarks cover 100 assets?
Yes, both cover 100 cryptoassets, but they rank and weight them differently.
Why choose the CRYPTO 100 Index over CMC100?
The CRYPTO 100 Index is better suited to users seeking a benchmark that takes into account adoption, liquidity, volatility, and tokenomics rather than size alone.

Bitwise 10 is designed to track a smaller group of leading investable cryptoassets, focusing specifically on large cap exposure. This makes it ideal for users interested in the top segment of the cryptocurrency market in a straightforward and concentrated manner. In contrast, the CRYPTO 100 ® Index takes a broader approach by covering 100 cryptoassets and utilising VALT Score to enhance the ranking and weighting process, providing valuable insights into cryptocurrency performance.
The CRYPTO 100 Index is built for those seeking a more comprehensive understanding of the crypto market. By encompassing a wider range of assets, it combines depth with a methodology that improves how assets are assessed, making it more suitable for users who want to analyse the overall market dynamics.
Key differences:
• Bitwise 10 is concentrated around 10 large cryptoassets.
• CRYPTO 100 Index tracks 100 cryptoassets using unique VALT that measure a cryptoassets volatility, adoption, liquidity and tokenomics.
• Bitwise 10 focuses on investable large cap exposure.
• CRYPTO 100 Index emphasises broader quality-adjusted benchmark construction.
FAQs:
Is Bitwise 10 broader than the CRYPTO 100 Index?
No. Bitwise 10 is a concentrated benchmark with only 10 assets, while the CRYPTO 100 Index covers a wider selection of 100 cryptoassets.
What does Bitwise 10 focus on?
Bitwise 10 concentrates on large cap crypto exposure in a more focused format.
What does the CRYPTO 100 Index focus on?
The CRYPTO 100 Index focusses on broader top 100 benchmark construction, employing our unique VALT Score to enhance the quality assessment of the included assets. All crypto indexes are not the same.

CoinDesk 20 is designed as a liquid large-cap crypto benchmark, focusing on widely recognised digital assets. For those aiming to assess cryptocurrency performance in a broader context, the CRYPTO 100 ® Index covers a more extensive top 100 range and utilises VALT to provide a clearer quality overlay in its market cap ranking.
CoinDesk 20 is particularly useful for users looking for a benchmark that emphasises a smaller, more tradable segment of the market. In contrast, the CRYPTO 100 Index offers insights into a wider array of cryptoassets, combining market cap with VALT Score to present a benchmark that reflects both scale and structural quality.
Key differences:
• CoinDesk 20 covers a smaller group of digital assets.
• CRYPTO 100 Index encompasses 100 cryptoassets based on VALT Score
• CoinDesk 20 focuses on liquid large cap exposure.
• CRYPTO 100 Index emphasises broader quality adjusted benchmark construction.
FAQs:
Is CoinDesk 20 more concentrated than the CRYPTO 100 Index?
Yes. CoinDesk 20 covers fewer assets, while the CRYPTO 100 Index includes 100 cryptoassets.
What is CoinDesk 20 designed for?
CoinDesk 20 is designed as a liquid large cap crypto benchmark.
Why does the CRYPTO 100 Index differ?
The CRYPTO 100 Index employs VALT to add a clearer quality overlay across a broader top 100 universe compared to other crypto indexes.

The Nasdaq CME Crypto Index serves as an institutional benchmark for the digital asset market, while the CRYPTO 100 ® Index is also designed as a benchmark, offering a more explicit methodology. It combines market capitalisation with the VALT Score to enhance the construction of crypto indexes.
Nasdaq CME focuses on providing benchmark infrastructure and broad market measurement, catering to users who analyse cryptocurrency performance through a more institutional view.
In contrast, the CRYPTO 100 Index is built to be easier to interpret. It not only presents benchmark results but also clarifies the ranking logic behind the index using VALT. This feature makes the CRYPTO 100 Index more accessible for users who wish to understand why certain assets rank where they do. Ultimately, it is a benchmark designed not only to measure the market but also to explain it.
Key differences:
• Nasdaq CME is positioned as an institutional benchmark.
• CRYPTO 100 Index is built as a transparent methodology led benchmark.
• Nasdaq CME focuses on market measurement.
• CRYPTO 100 Index emphasises quality adjusted ranking through VALT.
FAQs:
What is the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index built for?
It is built to provide a benchmark for the digital asset market from an institutional perspective.
How is CRYPTO 100 Index different from Nasdaq CME?
The CRYPTO 100 Index is more explicit about how assets are assessed, utilising VALT to combine market cap with factors such as volatility, adoption, liquidity, and tokenomics.
Is CRYPTO 100 Index still rules based?
Yes. The CRYPTO 100 Index remains a rules based benchmark with a transparent methodology.

CoinShares Top 10 is designed to track a concentrated group of large digital assets, making it an ideal benchmark for those focused on cryptocurrency performance. In contrast, the CRYPTO 100 ® Index offers a broader perspective by assessing the top 100 cryptoassets through a quality
adjusted methodology using VALT Score.
CoinShares Top 10 is tailored for concentrated exposure to major digital assets, providing users with a focused benchmark based on the largest segment of the crypto market.
On the other hand, the CRYPTO 100 Index represents a more comprehensive view of the market. Rather than limiting the benchmark to just ten assets, it encompasses a top 100 universe and leverages VALT to enhance the ranking and weighting of assets.
For users seeking a more extensive understanding of cryptocurrency performance, the CRYPTO 100 Index delivers greater breadth. It is specifically designed to balance market scale with stronger underlying quality signals.
Key differences:
• CoinShares Top 10 focuses on a concentrated large cap basket.
• The CRYPTO 100 Index tracks 100 cryptoassets.
• CoinShares Top 10 is designed for concentration.
• The CRYPTO 100 Index is built for broader market representation with quality adjustment.
FAQs:
Why compare the CRYPTO 100 Index with CoinShares Top 10?
Because CoinShares Top 10 serves as a concentrated large cap benchmark, while the CRYPTO 100 Index provides a broader top-100 benchmark.
Does CoinShares Top 10 use a narrower universe?
Yes. It focuses on a smaller number of large digital assets.
What is the advantage of the CRYPTO 100 Index?
The CRYPTO 100 Index combines broader market coverage with a methodology that uses VALT to improve ranking quality. All crypto indexes are not the same.

21Shares Crypto Basket products are designed to provide users with packaged exposure to selected cryptoassets. The CRYPTO 100 ® Index stands out because it employs an independent benchmark methodology, utilising VALT to enhance the ranking and weighting across a broader universe of the top 100 cryptoassets.
21Shares is dedicated to creating exchange traded access to crypto baskets, which are beneficial for users seeking a packaged investment format rather than a standalone benchmark methodology. In contrast, the CRYPTO 100 Index is built on benchmark logic first. Its primary role is to establish a more insightful framework for assessing cryptocurrency performance among the top 100 cryptoassets, leveraging VALT to introduce a quality overlay instead of merely packaging a smaller basket.
This distinction makes the CRYPTO 100 Index unique in its intent, aiming to deepen users' understanding of the market rather than just presenting a collection of assets.
Key differences:
• 21Shares specialises in basket-style crypto products.
• The CRYPTO 100 Index emphasises benchmark construction.
• 21Shares is product wrapper led.
• The CRYPTO 100 Index is methodology-first, with VALT based ranking.
FAQs:
What is the main difference between the CRYPTO 100 Index and 21Shares Crypto Basket?
21Shares focuses on packaged basket products, while the CRYPTO 100 Index prioritises benchmark construction and methodology.
Does 21Shares have the same purpose as the CRYPTO 100 Index?
No. 21Shares is product led, whereas the CRYPTO 100 Index is benchmark led.
Why is the CRYPTO 100 Index different?
The CRYPTO 100 Index utilises quality focussed VALT Score to refine how the top 100 cryptoassets are ranked and weighted, rather than simply wrapping a smaller basket into a product.
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