VanEck executive: Block is expected to become the first company in the S&P 500 to hold Bitcoin

PANews reported on January 10 that Matthew Sigel, director of digital asset research at VanEck, posted on the X platform that financial technology company Block is expected to become the first company in the S&P 500 to hold Bitcoin. To be included in the index, a stock must meet six main criteria, including:

1. a market capitalization of more than $18 billion; 2) public float of more than 10%; 3) earnings in the most recent quarter should be positive, and The sum of GAAP earnings for the first four quarters should also be positive; 4) High liquidity; 5) Listed for more than 12 months; 6) The company is headquartered in the United States.

Block met the last criterion (earnings) following the release of its first-quarter 2024 earnings. However, inclusion in the S&P 500 Index does not strictly follow a formula but is left to the discretion of the Index Committee. Historically, companies that meet all requirements have been included within 3 to 21 months (with the exception of LULU, which took 65 months).

Industry diversity is one of the factors considered by the Index Committee, who aim to maintain an industry composition that is generally consistent with industry economics. The term "consistent with industry economics" is not clearly defined, so the S&P Total Market Index can be used as a guide: Financials currently make up 13.9% of the S&P 500 and 14.6% of the broader index. It shows that there is still room for growth in the financial industry.