Investment marketplace Reality Shares has teamed up with Nasdaq to launch an index tracking companies in the nascent blockchain industry.

The smart-beta index – called the Reality Shares Nasdaq Blockchain Economy Index – is compiled by using internal and external research, as well as a proprietary “Blockchain Score” ranking system, a press release states.

Reality Shares is also planning an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will track the index and has already filed the proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fredrik Voss, vice president of blockchain innovation at Nasdaq, said that the collaboration represents a “tangible way” to track the growth of blockchain sector. The blockchain index may include equity securities of both operating and non-operating companies, the ETF filing states.

Eric Ervin, CEO of Reality Shares said:

“As these new applications are deployed, we believe these companies will most likely become disrupters in their industries, with potential to profit at the expense of laggard companies that do not deploy blockchain applications.”

Reality Shares’ ETF announcement was reported by CoinDesk earlier this month, alongside news that Amplify Trust ETF is also filing for permission to invest and trade in blockchain startups.

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