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.