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What the Market Sectors mean
What the Market Sectors mean

This article will give a brief rundown of the market sectors

Cassie Thomson avatar
Written by Cassie Thomson
Updated over 2 months ago

Understanding the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS)-

The Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS) is a system created to organise and categorise digital assets based on their use case and technology. It is designed to classify the top 250 digital assets (by market capitalization) into specific industries, which are then grouped into larger categories called industry groups and sectors. This structure creates a three-tiered hierarchy to help standardise how digital assets are defined and understood across the industry.

How DACS Works

  • Each digital asset is assigned to an industry based on its function and technology.

  • These industries are grouped into industry groups that share similar characteristics.

  • Finally, industry groups are placed into one of several sectors, creating a clear and organised system.

The 7 DACS Sectors:

  1. Computing: This sector includes digital assets that focus on providing computational power, data storage, and cloud services for blockchain applications. Projects in this category often deal with decentralised computing solutions.

  2. Culture & Entertainment: Digital assets in this category are focused on sectors like gaming, social media, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and other creative industries. These platforms allow users to engage with content, entertainment, and virtual worlds in new and decentralised ways.

  3. Currency: This sector represents cryptocurrencies that serve primarily as digital currencies or stores of value. Bitcoin, as a prime example, is part of this category. These assets are mainly used for transactions, remittances, and as a hedge against inflation.

  4. Decentralised Finance (DeFi): DeFi platforms aim to recreate traditional financial systems—such as lending, borrowing, and trading—without intermediaries. These assets allow users to engage in peer-to-peer financial transactions directly on the blockchain.

  5. Digitisation: This sector includes projects focused on the tokenisation of real-world assets or digital identities, enabling the representation of physical assets (like real estate or art) or data on blockchain systems.

  6. Smart Contract Platforms: These platforms provide the infrastructure for creating and executing smart contracts—self-executing contracts with terms directly written into code. Ethereum is a leading example in this category, powering a wide range of decentralised applications (dApps).

  7. Stablecoins: Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged to a fiat currency like the US dollar. They are used to reduce volatility and provide liquidity in the crypto market.

Flexibility of the Standard

While DACS is a structured system, it retains the flexibility to adapt the classification in response to market changes or unique circumstances to ensure it continues to meet its objectives.

DACS provides a standardised way to view and categorise digital assets, making it easier for investors and industry professionals to understand how different digital assets relate to each other.


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