Press Release: International Token Standardization Association becomes a member of the InterWork Alliance

Berlin — June 2, 2020 — The International Token Standardization Association (ITSA) e.V. becomes a member of the InterWork Alliance (IWA) to foster standardization of the global token markets. The IWA will drive business-level interoperability, multi-party interchange and trust by platform-neutral when defining tokenization standards that deliver value across applications and networks.

ITSA’s goal is to set standards for the global token markets. The scope of its mission is broad and global by default, as the blockchain technology and cryptographic tokens cross borders and are accessible worldwide. Uniform standards are a prerequisite for the adoption of the technology. Therefore, ITSA becomes a member of IWA and joins forces to develop standards together.

In the launch press release, IWA’s mission becomes clear: “What is required is standardization at the business level, which would allow companies to be able to agree on distributed business models without choosing a platform first. The InterWork Alliance will set the standards for building distributed applications, including appropriate frameworks for tokenizing items of value, writing contracts over those tokens, and privacy-preserving analytics of multi-party data.“

The IWA absorbs the Token Taxonomy Initiative (TTI), formerly an initiative by the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) to establish token standards. While tackling the same topic, the approach of ITSA and the TTI is different. Therefore, both associations’ frameworks complement each other more than they are in direct competition. As a member of IWA, ITSA aims to investigate the potential of integrating the IWA token taxonomy parameters into its International Token Classification (ITC) framework.

Constantin Ketz, the vice-chairman of ITSA, comments: “ITSA currently assesses the Token Taxonomy Framework among other frameworks with the aim to adjust the ITC in order to allow for enhanced comparability and compatibility between frameworks. The ITC’s technological dimension allows ITSA to expand its framework to capture the technical properties in a way the TTF does today. Both frameworks complement each other more than they are in direct competition.”

Joining the IWA is a strategic move to combine the standard-setting efforts instead of setting multiple, non-compatible standards. ITSA is joined at IWA by various renown companies and associations such as Accenture, Chainlink, Microsoft, Hyperledger and IBM as well as our member 2Tokens.

The International Token Standardization Association (ITSA) e.V. is a not for profit association based in Berlin that promotes the development and implementation of comprehensive market standards for the identification, classification, and analysis of cryptographic tokens. ITSA has over 100 international, associated founding members from various interest groups, including industry associations, banks, stock exchanges, startups, universities, law firms, and industrial enterprises.

The InterWork Alliance (IWA) is a non-profit, member-led organization representing both business and technical expertise based on real-world projects and requirements. Our global membership is made up of leaders, adopters, innovators, developers, and businesses working to define interworking standards representing the best practices for every use case the token-powered ecosystem has to offer. It will drive business-level interoperability, multi-party interchange and trust by platform-neutral when defining tokenization standards that deliver value across applications and networks.

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Authors

Stefan Schmitt is a project manager at the International Token Standardization Association (ITSA) e.V. Next to his work on a Horizon 2020 project by the European Commission as a research fellow for the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC) and being the project lead of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Academy, he is consulting several blockchain startups ranging from custody over payments to infrastructure. Mr. Schmitt holds a Master in Finance (M.Sc.) from Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. You can contact him via email (stefan.schmitt@itsa.global) or on LinkedIn.

Press contacts
Stefan Schmitt, Project Manager
Email: stefan.schmitt@itsa.global
Website: https://www.itsa.global/