Crypto index comparison, tier 2
Bitwise 10 Alternative: CCi30 vs Bitwise 10
The CCi30 Cryptocurrency Index is the rules-based alternative to the Bitwise 10. This page reviews the Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index under the eight-criterion CCi30 test and compares both indices on universe, weighting, independence, track record, and investability.
What is the alternative to the Bitwise 10?
The CCi30 Cryptocurrency Index replaces the Bitwise 10 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 Bitwise 10?
The Bitwise 10 tracks the ten largest crypto assets by free-float, inflation-adjusted market capitalization, excluding stablecoins. It launched in 2017, is administered by Bitwise Asset Management, and underlies the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW), for years one of the most visible index-linked crypto products in the US. The broader family (Bitwise 20, 70, 100, and European “Select” variants) follows similar construction, with eligibility tied to custody at approved third-party custodians and, for European products, acceptance by the SIX exchange and authorized participants.
How is the Bitwise 10 built?
Free-float and inflation-adjusted cap weighting over a ten-asset universe; monthly reconstitution; stablecoin exclusion; eligibility screens keyed to custody and venue support. An advisory board of indexing luminaries (ex-S&P, ex-Bloomberg) oversees the methodology.
Where the Bitwise 10 falls short statistically
Self-administration is disqualifying for benchmark purposes
Bitwise the index administrator selects and weights the assets; Bitwise the asset manager collects fees on funds tracking the result. Every reconstitution decision, every eligibility judgment about custody, every treatment of a fork or a delisting, is made by a party whose revenue depends on the product’s marketability. The advisory board is distinguished, but distinguished referees employed by one team are still employed by one team. The CCi30’s rules were published by academics and consultants with no fund attached; the index cannot be bent toward a product because there is no product to bend it toward.
Ten is a marketing number, not a statistical one
The float-adjusted top ten is ~85% BTC+ETH by weight in most regimes; its return series is statistically indistinguishable from a 70/20/10 BTC/ETH/rest portfolio. Ten is one-third of the count required for statistical significance, the step from 10 to 30 constituents is where diversification across sectors (smart-contract platforms, exchange ecosystems, payments, privacy, infrastructure) actually begins, and where the index becomes a defensible estimator of the market rather than a large-cap anecdote. Academic comparison of the major indices (Springer, Digital Finance, 2022) found methodological divergence drives material performance divergence, and grouped the CCi30’s diversification and transparency among its strengths. Where that literature scores narrow baskets favorably on correlation to a “total market index,” note what the yardstick is: a cap-weighted total dominated by Bitcoin, including, in aggregator form, stablecoins. Correlating tightly with a concentrated, contaminated total is not representation; it is replication of the concentration. An index that merely shadows Bitcoin has no reason to exist, since Bitcoin is already available at zero methodology cost.
Custody-gated universe
Eligibility requires support at select custodians, the same permission filter as the NCI, with the same casualty list. A “large cap crypto index” from which Monero is structurally absent while smaller custodian-friendly tokens qualify is ranking by compliance, not by capitalization.
Adjustments done right, narrowly
Credit: Bitwise’s free-float and inflation (supply-emission) adjustments are genuine methodological contributions. The CCi30’s smoothed-cap approach addresses the same measurement noise more generally, but Bitwise’s care here exceeds most Tier 1 efforts.
Can the Bitwise 10 be replicated by an investor?
BITW’s own history makes the case against conflating index and product: closed-end structure, persistent premiums and discounts of extraordinary magnitude, and fee drag, investors tracked the index in name while their returns tracked fund mechanics. An independent index like the CCi30 lets any manager compete to implement it; a captive index marries investors to one implementation.
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.