Digital ASSEt Functional index · DAFI
A functional benchmark for the digital asset ecosystem
Rossi Indices is releasing DAFI — the Digital Asset Functional Index — a rules-based digital asset benchmark designed to represent the monetary, infrastructure, and protocol-level components of the crypto economy.
Index status
Index Level Pre-release
DAFI Digital Asset Functional Index
3
functional categories
v1.0
methodology version
Weekly
Index Levels
Quarterly
reconstitution
What DAFI is
A benchmark built
around economic function.
DAFI is designed to organize digital assets by the economic role they primarily serve. Rather than treating all assets as interchangeable units of market value, the Index classifies assets across monetary, infrastructure, and protocol-level financial categories.
DAFI combines functional classification, asset-level and category-level caps, and disciplined exclusions to limit concentration and provide a clearer framework for neutral digital asset representation.
DAFI
Digital Asset Functional Index: a rules-based benchmark for mapping digital assets to the functions they enable across decentralized networks.
• Functional Classification
• Asset-Level and Category-Level Caps
• Disciplined Exclusions
• Transparent methodology
Benchmark Framework
DAFI is a benchmark framework, not an investment product or price prediction tool.
DAFI is a benchmark framework, not an investment product or price prediction tool.
The Index is designed for informational and benchmarking purposes. It does not recommend any individual asset, predict returns, or prescribe portfolio allocation.
Why DAFI exists
Digital assets need a cleaner map of function, not another narrative cycle.
Concentration Control
Market-cap-weighted crypto indices can become heavily concentrated in a small number of assets or categories. DAFI applies asset-level and category-level caps to limit dominance by any single asset or functional layer.
Functional Clarity
Digital assets do not all serve the same economic role. DAFI classifies assets by primary function to distinguish monetary assets, infrastructure networks, and protocol-level financial services.
Neutral Exclusions
DAFI excludes asset types that may distort neutral ecosystem representation, including stablecoins, memecoins, asset-backed tokens, and issuer-dependent or business-linked tokens.
Three functional categories
DAFI organizes digital assets across three core functional layers.
01
1) Monetary Assets
Assets primarily used for peer-to-peer transfer, settlement, and store-of-value functions.
This category captures the foundational role of digital assets as networks for value transfer, settlement, and monetary ownership.
02
2) Infrastructure and Execution
Assets that provide base-layer or protocol-layer infrastructure for transaction execution, settlement, scalability, and network coordination.
This category represents the infrastructure layer that supports decentralized applications and on-chain activity.
03
3) Neutral Protocols and FInancial Plumbing
Assets that support liquidity, credit, data, payments, exchange, and other protocol-level services across the digital asset ecosystem.
This category represents the operational and financial middleware layer of the crypto economy.
Current Index Status
DAFI Methodology v1.0 has been published.
Initial constituent weights and Index Level publication are being prepared.
Release state
Methodology published
Methodology
v1.0
Coverage model
Three functional categories
Index level
In preparation
Index Level publication
Weekly
Reconstitution
Quarterly
Documents/downloads
Core Documents for DAFI
Index Methodology
Rules governing DAFI’s eligibility criteria, asset exclusions, classification framework, constituent selection, weighting methodology, reconstitution schedule, data collection, Index Level calculation, and methodology changes.
Founder’s Note
A short explanation of why DAFI exists, what problem it addresses, and why functional representation matters in digital asset benchmarking.
Download PDF
Appendix A — Constituents
Current Index constituents, functional classifications, market context, and asset-level rationales determined by the DAFI methodology.
Download PDF
Appendix B — Classification Rationale
A concise explanation of the economic logic behind DAFI’s monetary, infrastructure, and protocol-level categories.
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Index Factsheet
Current Index status, base value, data source, publication frequency, constituent weights, bucket weights, and Index Level information.
Download PDF
Version Log
A public record of methodology versions, publication dates, and any future changes to DAFI rules or documentation.
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