Goldman Sachs to Launch Data Service to Classify Digital Assets

Investment bank and Financial service firm Goldman Sachs has revealed it is set to release a data service to classify hundreds of digital coins and tokens so institutional investors can comprehend the rapidly growing digital asset class.

Created in collaboration with global index provider MSCI and crypto data firm Coinmetrics, the data service is called Datanomy. The name was derived from the combination of data and taxonomy –  a branch of science focused on naming and classifying the natural world.

Datanomy is created to address the issue of many digital assets not being classified into their respective sectors. As the digital asset ecosystem has been expanding over the years, it could appear overwhelming to grasp if not familiar with the various sectors of the expansion.

Coin Metrics CEO Tim Rice said large asset managers wanted an “adult framework” to understand digital assets better and invariably discuss them.

Rice added:

“We’ve organized it in an intuitive manner that should help asset managers come into this asset class in a much more standardized fashion.This is the next phase of getting the underpinnings of the industry lined up so that everybody can embrace it, and we can figure out what the next directional move in the market is.”

Users can access Datanomy either as a subscription-based data feed or via Marquee – a platform by Goldman Sachs used as a digital storefront for institutional investors.

In addition, Datanomy provides users with analysis and research, as well as benchmarking performance, managing portfolios, or creating investment products depending on the sectors that include decentralized finance, smart contract platforms, metaverse, or value transfer coins.

Anne Marie Darling, head of the client strategy for Goldman’s Marquee platform, noted,

“We’re trying to create a framework for the digital asset ecosystem that our clients can understand because they increasingly need to think about performance tracking and risk management in digital assets.”

Digital assets on Datanomy would be divided into classes, sectors, and sub-sectors based on the usage of the tokens or coins. According to Darling, this will enable asset management firms and money managers at hedge funds to familiarize crypto with how equities can be debatable as industry sectors like finance or technology or themes like growth versus value stocks.

Notably, Datanomy is just one of the products Goldman Sachs has launched in recent times to achieve its expansion goal beyond Bitcoin-focused products in the crypto market. In June, the investment bank launched an Ethereum-linked derivative product to offer institutional investors indirect exposure to the cryptocurrency market.