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GLOSSARY · BLOCKCHAIN & WEB3

Crypto-asset

What a crypto-asset is under MiCA: the legal definition, the three types (asset-referenced tokens, e-money tokens and other crypto-assets) and what is NOT a crypto-asset.

WHAT IS IT? · FOR DUMMIES

A crypto-asset is a digital representation of a value or of a right that can be transferred and stored using distributed ledger technology (blockchain). It is the legal term the European Union uses: it covers cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, stablecoins, utility tokens and many others — but not tokenised shares or bonds, which remain transferable securities.

WHAT IS IT? · PRO

The definition comes from the MiCA Regulation and organises the market into three categories: e-money tokens (EMT, referencing a single official currency: euro or dollar stablecoins), asset-referenced tokens (ART, referencing baskets of currencies, commodities or other assets) and other crypto-assets (bitcoin, ether, utility and governance tokens). Each category has its own issuance, whitepaper and supervision regime, and providing services on them requires authorisation as a CASP.

What is NOT a crypto-asset in legal terms: a security token or any token representing a transferable security (shares, bonds, fund units) falls outside MiCA and inside MiFID II and securities law — even though technically it is a token all the same. That boundary decides which licence you need, and we explain it in tokenised securities vs crypto-assets.

01 / Key points

  • Digital representation of a transferable value or right on a blockchain (MiCA definition)
  • Three categories: e-money tokens, asset-referenced tokens and other crypto-assets
  • Providing services on them requires CASP authorisation
  • Tokenised securities are NOT crypto-assets: they fall under MiFID II

02 / Advantages

  • Single European framework with passporting across Member States
  • Clear definition ordering issuance and services
  • Transferable and programmable on public infrastructure

03 / Disadvantages

  • The boundary with securities requires case-by-case analysis
  • Whitepaper and authorisation duties to issue and operate
  • Volatility and risk specific to each category

This entry is informative. It is not legal, tax or investment advice. The rules cited change: check the current version on BOE and EUR-Lex.