Cryptocurrencies (and indeed all currencies) are referred to by their names, by letter-based ticker symbols, as well as by graphic symbols. Common ticker symbols for cryptocurrencies include BTC for Bitcoin and ETH for Ether. You may have also seen XBT used for Bitcoin, and therein lies the seed of a major problem for those looking to mainstream the use of cryptocurrencies, and integrate with the fiat currency world. The cryptocurrency long-game may be to replace fiat currencies, but in the short-term there will be a need to interact with them, trade with them, and convert one type of currency to another.
Putting aside the issue of whether cryptocurrencies are currencies, commodities, or assets, the crypto community has for the most part built them as if they are currencies. This includes assigning letter-codes to each cryptocurrency, in a similar (but unregulated) fashion as the codes that are assigned to fiat currencies. Fiat currency codes are regulated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), whose ISO 4217 defines the codes for each currency. The currently used codes are:
| Code | Country | Currency | Code | Country | Currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AED | United Arab Emirates | Dirham | AFN | Afghanistan | Afghani |
| ALL | Albania | Lek | AMD | Armenia | Dram |
| ANG | Netherlands Antilles | Guilder | AOA | Angola | Kwanza |
| ARS | Argentina | Peso | AUD | Australia | Dollar |
| AWG | Aruba | Guilder | AZN | Azerbaijan | Manat |
| BAM | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Convertible Mark | BBD | Barbados | Dollar |
| BDT | Bangladesh | Taka | BGN | Bulgaria | Lev |
| BHD | Bahrain | Dinar | BIF | Burundi | Franc |
| BMD | Bermuda | Dollar | BND | Brunei Darussalam | Dollar |
| BOB | Bolivia | Bolíviano | BRL | Brazil | Real |
| BSD | Bahamas | Dollar | BTN | Bhutan | Ngultrum |
| BWP | Botswana | Pula | BYN | Belarus | Ruble |
| BZD | Belize | Dollar | CAD | Canada | Dollar |
| CDF | Congo/Kinshasa | Franc | CHF | Switzerland | Franc |
| CLP | Chile | Peso | CNY | China | Yuan Renminbi |
| COP | Colombia | Peso | CRC | Costa Rica | Colon |
| CUC | Cuba | Convertible Peso | CUP | Cuba | Peso |
| CVE | Cape Verde | Escudo | CZK | Czech Republic | Koruna |
| DJF | Djibouti | Franc | DKK | Denmark | Krone |
| DOP | Dominican Republic | Peso | DZD | Algeria | Dinar |
| EGP | Egypt | Pound | ERN | Eritrea | Nakfa |
| ETB | Ethiopia | Birr | EUR | Euro Member Countries | Euro |
| FJD | Fiji | Dollar | FKP | Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | Pound |
| GBP | United Kingdom | Pound | GEL | Georgia | Lari |
| GGP | Guernsey | Pound | GHS | Ghana | Cedi |
| GIP | Gibraltar | Pound | GMD | Gambia | Dalasi |
| GNF | Guinea | Franc | GTQ | Guatemala | Quetzal |
| GYD | Guyana | Dollar | HKD | Hong Kong | Dollar |
| HNL | Honduras | Lempira | HRK | Croatia | Kuna |
| HTG | Haiti | Gourde | HUF | Hungary | Forint |
| IDR | Indonesia | Rupiah | ILS | Israel | Shekel |
| IMP | Isle of Man | Pound | INR | India | Rupee |
| IQD | Iraq | Dinar | IRR | Iran | Rial |
| ISK | Iceland | Krona | JEP | Jersey | Pound |
| JMD | Jamaica | Dollar | JOD | Jordan | Dinar |
| JPY | Japan | Yen | KES | Kenya | Shilling |
| KGS | Kyrgyzstan | Som | KHR | Cambodia | Riel |
| KMF | Comorian | Franc | KPW | Korea (North) | Won |
| KRW | Korea (South) | Won | KWD | Kuwait | Dinar |
| KYD | Cayman Islands | Dollar | KZT | Kazakhstan | Tenge |
| LAK | Laos | Kip | LBP | Lebanon | Pound |
| LKR | Sri Lanka | Rupee | LRD | Liberia | Dollar |
| LSL | Lesotho | Loti | LYD | Libya | Dinar |
| MAD | Morocco | Dirham | MDL | Moldova | Leu |
| MGA | Madagascar | Ariary | MKD | Macedonia | Denar |
| MMK | Myanmar (Burma) | Kyat | MNT | Mongolia | Tughrik |
| MOP | Macau | Pataca | MRU | Mauritania | Ouguiya |
| MUR | Mauritius | Rupee | MVR | Maldives (Maldive Islands) | Rufiyaa |
| MWK | Malawi | Kwacha | MXN | Mexico | Peso |
| MYR | Malaysia | Ringgit | MZN | Mozambique | Metical |
| NAD | Namibia | Dollar | NGN | Nigeria | Naira |
| NIO | Nicaragua | Cordoba | NOK | Norway | Krone |
| NPR | Nepal | Rupee | NZD | New Zealand | Dollar |
| OMR | Oman | Rial | PAB | Panama | Balboa |
| PEN | Peru | Sol | PGK | Papua New Guinea | Kina |
| PHP | Philippines | Peso | PKR | Pakistan | Rupee |
| PLN | Poland | Zloty | PYG | Paraguay | Guarani |
| QAR | Qatar | Riyal | RON | Romania | Leu |
| RSD | Serbia | Dinar | RUB | Russia | Ruble |
| RWF | Rwanda | Franc | SAR | Saudi Arabia | Riyal |
| SBD | Solomon Islands | Dollar | SCR | Seychelles | Rupee |
| SDG | Sudan | Pound | SEK | Sweden | Krona |
| SGD | Singapore | Dollar | SHP | Saint Helena | Pound |
| SLL | Sierra Leone | Leone | SOS | Somalia | Shilling |
| SRD | Suriname | Dollar | STN | São Tomé and Príncipe | Dobra |
| SVC | El Salvador | Colon | SYP | Syria | Pound |
| SZL | Eswatini (Swaziland) | Lilangeni | THB | Thailand | Baht |
| TJS | Tajikistan | Somoni | TMT | Turkmenistan | Manat |
| TND | Tunisia | Dinar | TOP | Tonga | Pa'anga |
| TRY | Turkey | Lira | TTD | Trinidad and Tobago | Dollar |
| TVD | Tuvalu | Dollar | TWD | Taiwan | New Dollar |
| TZS | Tanzania | Shilling | UAH | Ukraine | Hryvnia |
| UGX | Uganda | Shilling | USD | United States | Dollar |
| UYU | Uruguay | Peso | UZS | Uzbekistan | Som |
| VEF | Venezuela | Bolívar | VND | Vietnam | Dong |
| VUV | Vanuatu | Vatu | WST | Samoa | Tala |
| XAF | Communauté Financière Africaine (BEAC) CFA | Franc | XCD | East Caribbean | Dollar |
| XDR | International Monetary Fund (IMF) | Special Drawing Rights | XOF | Communauté Financière Africaine (BCEAO) | Franc |
| XPF | Comptoirs Français du Pacifique (CFP) | Franc | YER | Yemen | Rial |
| ZAR | South Africa | Rand | ZMW | Zambia | Kwacha |
| ZWD | Zimbabwe | Dollar |
Comparing the currency codes and a full list of cryptocurrencies, it doesn’t take long to find conflicts between the codes. For example, the Bahrain Dinar (BHD) overlaps with BitcoinHD, the Bolviain Bolíviano (BOB) overlaps with the Bob’s Repair token, the Bahamian Dollar (BSD) overlaps with BitSend, the Isle of Man Pound (IMP) overlaps with the Ether Kingdoms Token, etc.
And what about the hundreds of currencies that have been retired, such as the former Argentinian Peso (ARY) which has the same code as the Block Array token?
Note also the currency codes that start with the letter X. Those currency codes are for currencies that span multiple countries, such as XCD for the East Caribbean Dollar, which is used in several countries. The only multi-country currency that does not start with the letter X is EUR for the European Euro currency, which was originally XEU but was later changed to EUR (chalk that down to the EU having more influence than the East Caribbean countries).
In addition to multi-country currencies, some commodities are also traded using X-prefixed codes, such as Gold (XAU), Silver (XAG), Platinum (XPT) and Palladium (XPD), which are simply the letter X appended with the two-letter symbol of each metal from the periodic table. While most of the 100+ elements on the periodic table are not traded as commodities, such as Actinium (Ac), what happens when there is the possibility of an XAC commodity, and there is a cryptocurrency with the same code, General Attention Currency?
Back to the previously mentioned XBT code. Bitcoin has a larger market cap than all other cryptocurrencies combined. It currently sits somewhere around $147 billion, and at its peak in 2017 was over $320 billion. With that, there has been acceptance of Bitcoin in the existing financial markets, which have started to trade in Bitcoin. Instead of using Bitcoin’s designated BTC code, however, traders changed the code to XBT, which one could look at as recognizing Bitcoin as a multi-country currency, or as a commodity like gold, but either way fits nicely into trading systems. Cryptocurrencies such as XRP which target transactions between financial institutions already begin with the letter X, intending to fit within the system. That solution doesn’t work, however, when you have over 2000 cryptocurrencies, a number which will only grow.
Here are the top 100 or so cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap as of the time of writing this:
The code links to the page describing the cryptocurrency on CoinMarketCap, and the name links to the web site for the cryptocurrency. For a list of over 2000 cryptocurrencies, see CoinMarketCap’s All Cryptocurrencies list.
What is interesting in this list is that while every cryptocurrency has a ticker symbol, they don’t all follow the same 3-character system. While most ticker symbols are 3 characters, they range from 1 to 9 characters. In the above list which is only a small portion of all cryptocurrencies, you can see ticker symbols that range from 2-5 characters.
Cryptocurrencies are mostly designed to be decentralized. That comes with strengths and weaknesses. Forget about preventing cryptocurrency ticker symbols from overlapping with fiat ticker symbols, but what about simply not overlapping with other cryptocurrencies? There is no current method for preventing someone from creating a new cryptocurrency with the same designated code as any existing one. If anything, the only mechanism to prevent this from happening is that if you create a cryptocurrency and want it listed on an existing exchange, it wouldn’t be allowed if it used the same code as a cryptocurrency currently on the exchange. Perhaps one could look at that as market forces at work, but it’s still messy.
The only attempt at creating some kind of registry seems to be SLIP-0044, which is a registry of coin types that can be used in BIP-0044. SLIP-0044 says it only accepts new coins that have wallets that have implemented BIP-0044 for them, although there is nothing that indicates how this is checked or enforced. There is also nothing that indicates how a duplicate ticker symbol would be handled.
What’s the solution to this without adding a layer of centrality to a decentralized system? Perhaps exchanges should create a common registry for cryptocurrencies to claim symbols. It would still be a market solution. The exchanges just say register your coin or token on this list before contacting us about getting listed on the exchange. The registry would prevent duplicate codes, and perhaps either block or at least notify the registrant of potential overlaps with fiat currency and commodity codes like those mentioned above. There would be no requirement to register your cryptocurrency on the site, and no requirement for all exchanges to support it, so it wouldn’t be a fundamental change to how codes are designated. It would only be a kind of guideline for those that intend to make it into the major exchanges.
Restrictions would need to be in place to make sure that people didn’t just reserve good codes for future use and then never use them. The SLIP-0044 registry requires implementation in a BIP-0044 wallet before being added. Perhaps some form of proof-of-work such as that would be necessary to allow being added to the registry. Something doable, but not trivial, to insure the registry isn’t filled with junk registrations.
Another parallel solution may be for ISO to add a list of cryptocurrency codes to supplement ISO 4217. I don’t think it’s feasible for all cryptocurrencies to be added to ISO 4217 itself, so a parallel list that could allow larger codes than the 3-character codes allowed in ISO4217 would be helpful.
I’m sure there are other solutions to this problem. Let’s just start the conversation.
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