Allen wants to build in a multi-asset wallet and to facilitate “atomic swaps,” which allow users and exchanges to trade without leaving a user’s crypto assets sitting on an exchange. “The trade is settled to you. There’s no risk of you being robbed or losing your funds,” he said. Allen’s concern about security is heightened by the fact that a six-figure amount of his own Bitcoin was hacked.

Crypto index investing has potential, but caution — as ever in crypto — is in order. There have been some dramatic flops. On July 19, crypto exchange trading powerhouse Coinbase suddenly ditched its Coinbase Bundle index product without explanation. Coinbase’s Bundle mobile app was launched in the fall of 2018 to reach the mass retail market. Investors could invest in a six-crypto index with as little as $25. 

Eric Conner, founder of Ethhub.io, trashed the idea in a tweet when Coinbase first offered it. “The @coinbase bundle seems like a lazy product. Weighting off current market cap makes little sense. Should just let the buyer decide their weights,” he stated. Crypto Briefing first spotted the vanishing bundle on July 4 and tagged a Coinbase FAQ as its source: “Coinbase Bundle purchases have been deprecated, as such all assets purchased in the bundle have been redistributed to their respective individual asset wallets.”

Late last year, the Winklevoss twins introduced Cryptoverse on the Gemini mobile app. This market-weighted index includes five coins available on the Gemini exchange: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Zcash. 

On June 26, Bitwise announced a new variation on its large cap index to support a new exchange-traded product listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The same day the Swiss exchange listed the Amun Bitwise Select 10 Large Cap Crypto Index (ticker symbol KEYS). 

The fact that indexing is moving from the institutional side to the retail side is “a pretty good indicator that it’s starting to mature” as an asset class, says Reinertsen, the Cerus founder. Still, the perpetual issue of high volatility among crypto assets remains an obstacle.

“It’s hard for crypto index funds to stay afloat in tumultuous times,” Reinertsen said. “With traditional index funds that’s not something we see.”