ANNA adds digital token identifiers to global ISIN bureau

The move formally bridges traditional securities infrastructure with crypto and tokenised asset identification, signalling digital assets' shift to mainstream capital

By Disrupts Editorial Team Sun, 9 August 2026

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The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) has expanded its ANNA Service Bureau (ASB) to include Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs), bringing cryptoasset and tokenised-security identification into the same centralised reference-data platform that has served traditional financial markets since 2001. From 25 July 2026, ASB subscribers can access both XT ISINs for cryptoassets and DTIs for digital assets, where assigned, through the bureau's single-point interface.

The ASB is the broadest directly sourced compilation of International Securities Identification Numbers globally, drawing on data from more than 120 National Numbering Agencies across 200-plus jurisdictions. As of 1 July 2026, the platform held 146,696,398 ISINs. Adding DTI coverage under the same roof is less a technical upgrade than a statement of category: digital assets are being processed through the same governance and data-quality standards applied to conventional securities.

Standardisation as infrastructure

The DTI standard itself is administered by the Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF), a non-profit division of Etrading Software. Originally built to unambiguously identify cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether, the ISO 24165 standard now spans tokenised securities, stablecoins, crypto underliers of structured products, and real-world assets across distributed ledgers. DTIF became an ANNA member and was designated as the numbering agency for XT ISINs and the registration authority for DTIs, making this integration a formalisation of a relationship already embedded in the standards architecture.

Stephan Dreyer, Managing Director of ANNA, noted the practical framing: "By bringing both XT ISINs and DTIs into the existing reference data suite, we have made it easier than ever for the market to access and leverage unified datasets to run their reporting and workflows with absolute confidence." ANNA has also introduced a digital asset flag within the ASB system to distinguish tokenised or digital instruments from conventional ones at a glance.

The convergence angle: from niche to plumbing

The macro significance extends well beyond a database update. For years, the absence of globally consistent, machine-readable identifiers for digital assets was a structural barrier to institutional participation. Custodians, prime brokers, and compliance teams operating under MiFID II, EMIR, and emerging Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) requirements need unique, stable identifiers to book, report, and audit positions, precisely the same function ISINs perform for equities and bonds. By routing DTIs through the ASB, ANNA effectively lowers the onboarding friction for any institution that already consumes ASB data feeds, which is a substantial share of global market infrastructure.

Sassan Danesh, CEO of Etrading Software, pointed to the regulatory dimension: "As regulatory frameworks increasingly recognise the need for globally consistent digital asset identification, the DTI is becoming an important reference point for transparency, reporting and interoperability."

The capital-allocation read-across is significant. A growing cohort of asset managers, sovereign wealth vehicles, and exchange operators are building or acquiring digital-asset capabilities, but integration with legacy middle- and back-office systems has consistently been cited as a friction point. Standardised identifiers that slot directly into existing data workflows reduce both the technical cost and the compliance risk of that integration, making digital-asset allocation more accessible to institutions managing multi-asset mandates. That dynamic is particularly relevant in jurisdictions, including the EU, UAE, and Singapore, where regulatory clarity on tokenised securities is advancing fastest and where cross-asset portfolio construction across traditional and digital instruments is already a near-term strategic priority.

The broader trajectory points toward a plumbing convergence: as tokenised real-world assets, from government bonds to real estate, accumulate the same identifier hygiene as their traditional counterparts, the operational distinction between a tokenised equity and a listed one begins to erode. For cross-sector leaders, that convergence is the story, and ANNA's ASB expansion is one of the more concrete structural steps taken to date.