Ethereum Consortium Launches Token Initiative With Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Others

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) has launched a blockchain-neutral Token Taxonomy Initiative in partnership with major firms, according to a press release from EEA on April 17. The initiative will seek to define tokens in non-technical and cross-industry terms in a bid to drive enterprise token adoption at scale.

The EEA describes itself “a member-driven standards organization whose charter is to develop open, blockchain specifications that drive harmonization and interoperability.”

Members of the initiative reportedly include global consulting firm Accenture, major banks Santander and JPMorgan Chase, blockchain incubator ConsenSys, Big Four auditor EY, tech giants Intel, Microsoft and IBM, blockchain consortium R3, international think-tank The Blockchain Research Institute, blockchain r&d firm Clearmatics and others.

The new Token Taxonomy Initiative will aim to establish a shared set of terms and definitions for tokens — whichever blockchain they derive from — as a cornerstone for businesses and developers.

Standardization, the EEA’s director Ron Resnick argues, can unlock the frictionless use of tokens “to serve as, or provide access to, a set of goods, financial assets, securities, services, value or content” within enterprise-grade blockchain applications.

As well as clarifying the concept and scope of the token model, the initiative will seek to address use cases, taxonomy and terminology and technical specifications.

To this end, the project will aim to establish technical standards that can counter fragmentation between multiple blockchain protocols and ensure interoperability between platforms and use cases — whether the tokens serve currency-like purposes or represent unique assets.

The initiative will be structured to include a Token Taxonomy Framework accompanied by an educational initiative, which will be run through structured Token Definition Workshops.

As previously reported, the EEA — which counts over 500 members — is engaged in ongoing token standards work, which began with a focus on Ethereum (ETH) specifications. In fall 2018, Hyperledger and EEA announced their mutual associated membership.

The organization extended its global outreach by opening a regional office in China this February. That same month, the EEA announced it would be launching a so-called “token task force,” to be focused on ETH-derived fungible ERC-20 and non-fungible ERC-721 tokens.