Etrading Software (ETS), acting as exclusive Registration Authority for the new International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) standard ISO 24165 for Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs), and International Token Standardization Association (ITSA), the non-profit organisation aiming at setting market standards for the global token economy, have formed a new joint task force to identify potential synergies regarding the identification of digital tokens.

The Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF) was created by Etrading Software to provide ISO standard identifiers for digital assets based on open data principles. The joint task force is charged with identifying synergies in the issuance processes of both the DTI and the International Token Identification Number (ITIN) - the technical identifier issued by ITSA for both fungible and non-fungible DLT-based cryptographic tokens. The task force was established in May and is due to run for the next 6-12 months.

Sassan Danesh, Managing Partner of Etrading Software, says: “Etrading Software is working hard to ensure that ISO DTI 24165 can be seamlessly integrated with existing industry standards. The integration of the DTI with other relevant standards, which have different functions but are intrinsically linked, will reduce operational complexity and costs of the DTI, as well as providing a clear link between an asset and a digital token that represents the asset.” 

Constantin Ketz, Vice Chairman of ITSA, says: “ITSA is keen to cooperate with other standards bodies and initiatives to ensure the interoperability and complementary nature of all market standards. We are convinced that collaboration and alignment of existing standards will lead to accelerated adoption of digital tokens as well as increased efficiency and accessibility for market stakeholders. Therefore, we are very happy to be working with Etrading Software on finding synergies between ITIN and DTI.”

A key deliverable of the task force will be to produce a set of recommendations for collaboration to DTIF and ITSA boards, including an outline implementation plan. These might include aligning DTIs and ITINs, automatic notifications between issuing authorities or white-label access and/or federated model.