The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has today announced the launch of a bitcoin price index (NYXBT).

NYXBT will represent the daily US dollar value of one bitcoin at 4pm (BST) and will be published on the NYSE Global Index Feed (GIF).

For a limited period it will also be viewable on the NYSE’s website.

Thomas Farley, NYSE group president, said in a statement:

“Bitcoin values are quickly becoming a data point that our customers want to follow as they consider transacting, trading or investing with this emerging asset class.”

He added: “As a global index leader and administrator of ICE LIBOR, ICE Futures US Dollar Index and many other notable benchmarks, we are pleased to bring transparency to this market.”

The bitcoin price index will use data from transactions taking place on San Francisco-based bitcoin exchange Coinbase.

However, a statement released by the NYSE said that it would continue to review other bitcoin exchanges to see whether they met the criteria required for inclusion in the index. “The NYSE Bitcoin suite of indices is anticipated to grow, with new indices introduced over time.”

Growing interest on Wall Street

The move comes after the Wall Street stock exchange invested in Coinbase’s $75m Series C funding round, which closed in January this year.

Speaking to CoinDesk following the announcement, Farley said: “With this investment, we are tapping into a new asset class by teaming up with a leading platform that is bringing transparency, security and confidence to an important growth market.”

The NYSE is not the only firm on Wall Street investing in the digital currency.

Multinational banking giant Goldman Sachs recently participated in a $50m funding round raised by bitcoin financial services startup Circle.

Just last month, developers at the Bank of New York Mellon Corp were revealed to be experimenting with bitcoin’s open-source code on the bank’s new corporate recognition program.

New York Stock Exchange image via Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.com