Introducing the CoinDesk 20: The Assets That Matter Most in Crypto (incl Dash)

Which cryptocurrencies matter most to the market?

That question gets tougher to answer every day as new digital assets join the thousands already traded. Those looking to figure out which ones are the most important have often used simple metrics such as market capitalization to sort through the Lego pile of coins and tokens. Such simplistic filtering tells only part of the story and is fraught with the potential for manipulation. (Read Anna Baydakova’a recent article for a salient illustration.)

That’s why CoinDesk has launched the CoinDesk 20. This group of 20 digital assets makes up most of what people mean when they say “the cryptocurrency market.” But volume is not the sole criterion for inclusion.

While these 20 cryptocurrencies, tokens and stablecoins together are worth more than 90% of the entirety of the crypto market, the list is not derived simply from valuations. Rather, it involves a smarter way to find the assets most relevant to the market.

It starts with the exchanges. But not every exchange – far from it.

On the wild frontier of crypto trading, hundreds of exchanges pop up all the time. Few are trustworthy and reliable. Only a sliver have done what they can to remove manipulation.

CoinDesk’s research team analyzed several……….