The ISO DTI Standard Now Included in the FIX Protocol

The Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol is the primary tool for data transmission and simplifying electronic trading on traditional markets. It is a widely utilized system, used by banks, hedge funds, exchanges, brokers, and regulators. It serves as a common language for these institutions' computers to interact with one another. The protocol allows for seamless exchange of information between various trading systems, free from constraints. 

With the latest update to the FIX protocol, the FIX Technical Committee added a new standard to identify digital assets, making it easier to trade cryptocurrencies and tokens.

Henceforth, stakeholders in the TradFi sector will be able to conduct transactions involving cryptocurrencies and associated financial instruments more transparently and efficiently. For instance, regulators will leverage DTI to monitor compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies, as well as to track and manage risks.

Different types of identifiers have been used for securities and other established "quasi-currencies" for a long time, consolidated under a single regulatory framework. Standardization is necessary for search, navigation, and trading. As a result, the Digital Token Identifier was developed to align digital assets with the traditional finance sector.

"It is very encouraging to see industry and regulators continuing to adopt the standard. We know that financial institutions are already using the DTI internally, and now, with this news, will be able to use the FIX Protocol to send messages with DTIs both internally and externally," Sassan Danesh, CEO of Etrading Software, commented.

"Adding the DTI standard to the FIX Protocol was an easy decision as the DTI extends the existing functionality to the world of digital assets, which helps the market evolve to work with this asset class. We know this is a popular decision and can see many benefits of adding the DTI, including making it easier for the industry to audit their transactions and increase transparency, thereby bringing more efficiencies to the market," Jim Kaye, Executive Director at FIX Trading Community, said.

We can report that as of Q1 2023, over 1300 DTIs have been issued. These DTIs cover a range of digital assets from private ledgers to tokenized securities. A digital token identifier is becoming increasingly popular on traditional markets these days, as it enables seamless monitoring and tracking of digital assets, while also providing a wealth of information.