Crypto index comparison, tier 4
CMC Crypto 200 Alternative: CCi30 vs CMC Crypto 200
The CCi30 Cryptocurrency Index is the rules-based alternative to the CMC Crypto 200. This page reviews the CMC Crypto 200 by Solactive (CMC200 / CMC200EX) under the eight-criterion CCi30 test and compares both indices on universe, weighting, independence, track record, and investability.
What is the alternative to the CMC Crypto 200?
The CCi30 Cryptocurrency Index replaces the CMC Crypto 200 for investors who need a whole-market benchmark. The CCi30 holds the 30 largest cryptocurrencies by smoothed market capitalization, weights them by the square root of that figure, excludes stablecoins by rule, and has published live values since 1 January 2015.
- 30 constituents
- Square-root weighting
- Stablecoins excluded by rule
- Live since 1 January 2015
- Independent, fully rules-based
What is the CMC Crypto 200?
A 200-constituent, market-cap-weighted index of the largest cryptocurrencies, developed and owned by CoinMarketCap, calculated and administered by German index engineer Solactive, launched 2019 with a base date of December 31, 2018, rebalanced quarterly, and distributed under Nasdaq tickers (CMC200, plus an ex-Bitcoin variant, CMC200EX).
Where the CMC Crypto 200 falls short statistically
Two hundred is the overshoot argument in its purest form
The CCi30 documentation identifies the frontier: past thirty constituents, additional names add fees and illiquidity without significant representational gain, because the top 30 already deliver ~90% capitalization coverage and 99% statistical confidence (1.11% margin of error). Positions 31–200 of the CMC universe contribute a residual sliver of capitalization spread across assets whose order books cannot absorb institutional size, and being cap-weighted, those 170 extra names barely register in the index level anyway. The CMC200 pays the full cost of breadth and collects almost none of its benefit: an index that is 90%+ driven by its top 30 while carrying the replication burden of 200.
The ownership problem, aggravated
CoinMarketCap is owned by Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, with listing fees, proprietary tokens (BNB sits in the index), and commercial stakes across the constituent universe. The index’s own data source is thus a subsidiary of the market’s largest interested party. Solactive’s IOSCO-compliant administration launders the calculation, not the conflict.
The ex-BTC variant
deserves a note: an index of “the crypto market except its dominant asset” answers no allocator’s question, it is a data product in search of a use case.
Method and sources
Methodology facts on this page come from the published documents of the provider; constituent lists change and should be re-verified before citation. The CCi30 rules are published in the methodology manual. The full comparison set is on the crypto index comparison hub, and the allocation calculator shows the CCi30 basket for any amount.