Cryptocurrency exchange Upbit is launching South Korea’s very first cryptocurrency index to help investors better understand market trends. Upbit has quickly established itself as the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea by trading volume. Its cryptocurrency index is called Upbit Crypto Index (UBCI) and will be measured from 4 market indices. The first 3 indices will be available in April, while the fourth will be made available at a later date.

The 4 indices include a Market Index, Sector Index, Bitcoin Index and Strategy Index. The Market Index includes the total liquidity of the market weighted by market cap. The Sector Index will categorize cryptocurrencies based on their characteristics. The Bitcoin Index will focus on Bitcoin trading practices. The Strategy Index will provide quantitative indicators and tracking yields of the investor’s portfolio.

Dunnamu, a FinTech startup and operator of stock trading application Kakao Stock, introduced Upbit as a comprehensive trading platform that supports over a hundred cryptocurrencies. The company allowed Upbit traders to connect with Kakao applications such as the mobile payment platform Kakao Pay that has more than 13 million users and Kakao Talk, a messaging app that is used by 93% of the country’s population. Upbit quickly became South Korea’s top crypto trading operator within months of its launch. According to market data published by a politician from the country’s ruling Democratic party, Upbit accounted for more than half of South Korea’s crypto trading market at 52.9%.

Lee Seok-woo, president of Dunamu, emphasized the necessity for investor indices. According to him, the cryptocurrency market’s current situation is quite similar to the conventional financial market based on bonds and stocks in its early phase. As the market grows and gets more refined, the Upbit Crypto Index is expected to have a more significant role in this area in the near future. Lee said that they will reveal the index rulebook and allow the market to evaluate it.

Upbit can be accessed on both iOS and Android platforms. It was developed by Kakao, a company that provides a wide range of software options. Kakao is the creator of Kakao Talk, the most popular messaging app in South Korea. The company provides a music streaming service and an Uber-like application for taxis. Kakao also provides Daum, the 2^nd most popular search engine in the country.

Dunamu is planning to invest $93 million in blockchain technology over the next 3 years. The company is keenly investing in blockchain firms and startups that can incorporate the technology in their apps such as data analytics, financial technology and artificial intelligence. Dunamu plans to do this through equity investment, acquisitions as well as mergers. The company has already appointed Lee Kang-jun, its chief investment officer, to lead a new venture capital subsidiary tentatively called Dunamu & Partners.

Whether Dunamu will market the UBCI globally or not remains unclear. However, with Upbit’s consistent large trading volume, reaching $11 billion on one occasion, the company might just consider overseas partnerships in the future.