The Wall Street market that got its start trading wheat, tobacco and Revolutionary War bonds has ventured into a new realm: the Bitcoin digital currency.
The New York Stock Exchange said it launched a new index Tuesday, the NYSE Bitcoin Index, that could give a stamp of of legitimacy to the sometimes troubled young currency.
The NYSE is owned by Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange, which acquired the venerable stock market operator in 2013.
“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,” said NYSE Group President Thomas Farley.
The NYSE said the new index, with the ticker symbol of NYXBT, will represent the dollar value of one bitcoin, based on transactions in “select bitcoin exchanges which have been evaluated and meet NYSE’s quality standards.”
The online currency has had a lot of ups and downs since its launch in 2008. Its value soared as high as $1,100 in 2013, but crashed after one of its major trading centers went bankrupt. In recent months, one bitcoin has been worth about $230.
Major online retailers and other businesses now accept bitcoin payments, including Microsoft, Overstock.com and travel website Expedia.
But the currency also has been connected to a number of scandals, including its use in alleged money laundering schemes, and an online black market called the Silk Road that the FBI said was used to sell illegal drugs and other criminal services. The FBI shut it down in 2013.
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