A new version of its MarketPsych Indices, which it runs inconjunction with MarketPsych Data LLC, a behavioural economicsresearch firm, will scan over 400 websites, many specific tocryptocurrencies, to capture market-moving sentiment and themes,Thomson Reuters said in a statement.
Digging through market chatter and analysing onlinesentiment has long proven popular among traders of traditionalasset classes.
The boom in the prices of cryptocurrencies in recent yearshas spurred a huge online industry where individuals exchangetrading ideas in forums and news websites report on the latestdevelopments in the industry.
Many analysts have linked online activity, for exampleGoogle searches for "bitcoin", with the price of the best-knowncryptocurrency.
"News and social media are driving the investment and riskmanagement process more than ever with the continuing rise ofpassive and quant-driven trading," said Austin Burkett, GlobalHead of Quant and Feeds, Thomson Reuters.
Bitcoin's price gained more than 1,300 percent last year asinvestors piled in, and since peaking at close to