The Shenzen Stock Exchange will launch an index covering 50 blockchain companies.

China’s tech-heavy bourse, the Shenzen Stock Exchange, announced December 24 its introduction of an index to track the performance of China’s top 50 blockchain companies including startups.

According to a report in CrowdFundInsider, the Shenzen Stock Exchange will include in the index those firms that are active in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and crypto industries.  Further, the Exchange will compute their ranking in the index on the basis of their average daily market capitalization over the previous six months.

Blockchain a key sector for China

In October Chinese President  Xi Jinping called for his country to “seize the opportunity” afforded by blockchain.  “We must take the blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies,” he said. Xi was speaking at a Politburo Committee session on blockchain technology trends.

The Chinese leader pointed to the vast array of applications possible with blockchain technology. These included financing businesses, to mass transit and poverty alleviation.

Xo also exhorted the creation of “Blockchain+.”  It’s a technological effort to improve people’s access to education, employment, food, and medical security.

Shenzen Bourse scrutinizes index constituents

The Shenzen Stock Exchange is said to have investigated whether the companies proposed to be included in the index were actually operating in the blockchain sector. This must be a first for a global exchange of its size. Its intention was evidently to weed-out fly-by-night operators taking advantage of the hype surrounding crypto and blockchain.

The exchange is likely taking a cue from policy-makers. Chinese high-level politicians have reportedly banned any articles in media that claim blockchain is a scam. They are also said to be systematically removing existing content that throws blockchain in a negative light, or scam-related. This marks a complete volte-face from previous policy.

Other global exchanges also tracking blockchain and crypto

In September 2019, Nasdaq began listing a blockchain-focused, decentralized finance index called Defix. Then, in October 2019, the exchange-listed the artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced CIX100 index launched by digital currency data provider Cryptoindex.

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