Benchmark

A widely accepted measure or point of reference for the value, performance, or overall usefulness of an asset or investment.

A benchmark serves as a measure to identify how well a particular asset or investment is performing in the market relative to a historical standard. The benchmark works the same way most other performance yardsticks work in the financial sector: as a line that divides performance into positive and negative. Therefore, to know whether a crypto asset, for example, has good prospects, one only needs to screen several of its characteristics (e.g., price and popularity) across established benchmarks.

There are several benchmarks in the world of cryptocurrencies. The best of these are indices which measure size-based performance or market capitalization. Good examples of these crypto performance indices are the Crypto-10 Index and the S&P Bitcoin Index (SPBTC).