MIC Codes & IANA Time Zones: The Boring Standards That Prevent Bugs

Why we store MIC codes and IANA time zones in our exchange dataset—and how it keeps routing, calendars, and time conversions consistent.

Two identifiers, two jobs

MIC (Market Identifier Code) identifies a trading venue using a global standard, which helps prevent confusion between similarly named exchanges or trading segments.

IANA time zones (like America/New_York) are the standard identifiers used by most programming languages to handle daylight saving time correctly.

Why this matters in practice

• Correct conversions: "UTC offset" alone breaks during DST changes; IANA zones keep it accurate.
• Stable data model: MICs reduce ambiguity when you expand to new venues.
• Cleaner routing: Your URL slug can be human-friendly, while MIC/timezone remain machine-accurate.

What we do in Global Exchange Clock

• Store hours in the exchange's local IANA zone.
• Convert to the user's time zone only for display.
• Keep MIC as a reference identifier for future integrations.