Kaiko, Bloomberg, Expand Crypto Identifiers

Cryptocurrency data provider Kaiko and Bloomberg say their joint project, the Financial instrument Global Identifiers (FIGI) now covers almost 8,000 crypto asstes, something the firms claim makes the FIGI to most widely user open identifier in the space.

The FIGI is an open standard of the Object Management Group (OMG) and a recognised US national standard by a body called the American Standards Committee, X9, part of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Bloomberg and Kaiko issued the first series of FIGIs to cover crypto assets in 2021, as a push for standardisation in a cryptocurrency industry in need of greater consistency, transparency and efficiency.

FIGIs for crypto assets enable interoperability between industry participants across the trading life cycle, such as digital exchanges, data aggregators, custodians, service providers and regulators. Incorporating FIGIs at the infrastructure level enables a coherent view of market data across multiple providers and applications.
They are assigned at three levels of granularity: asset, currency pair and trading platform. This hierarchy provides all market players with greater transparency and a broader view across the sector, and ultimately brings the total number of FIGI codes currently issued to 28,000, the firms state.

Importantly, they add, the FIGI standard complements, and is compatible with, other relevant identifiers in the space. Each instrument assigned with a FIGI can also be tied at an asset level to the ISO’s Digital Token Identifier, or to an International Securities Identification Number with appropriate licensing.

“The continuous evolution of the cryptocurrency industry demands cohesive standards for taxonomic, regulatory and classification frameworks. Our collaboration with Bloomberg in expanding FIGIs for crypto assets signifies a stride towards enhancing industry interoperability and fostering efficiency,” says Ambre Soubiran, CEO of Kaiko. “This development aligns with our commitment to addressing the sector’s challenges and propelling it towards greater maturity and accessibility.”