Securities Numbering Body Launches Task Force to Standardize Digital Assets

The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) has launched a task force to address digital asset labelings across financial markets.

Announced Wednesday, the new task force will consider appropriate International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs) employed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), an international body which promotes standardizations across global enterprises.

The task force will investigate digital asset labels for cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain technology as it intersects with financial markets, the association said.

While most crypto exchanges use a standardized set of ticker symbols, there are some discrepancies that will need to be overcome if traditional financial exchanges are to eventually deal with digital assets. For example, bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency by market cap, has traditionally been labelled BTC, but more recently XBT has been used due to its similarity to gold's ticker, XAU.

Speaking on the announcement, ANNA executive director and secretariat Uwe Meyer called the task force a step forward for traditional markets recognition of the emerging asset class:

“With digital assets emerging as a new investment class, the availability of quality, standardised reference data will serve as the foundation for a trusted token market … This evaluation process on digital assets is an important part of that journey.”

Financial data ticker image via Shutterstock