Digital assets

A digital asset is any source of value or wealth that exists only in digital form and comes with a distinct right to use or distinct permission for use. Digitally stored data that do not have those rights are not considered assets. A digital asset is an asset that can be stored and traded on a blockchain or other distributed ledger technology.

A digital asset is created, or minted, when new information is added, through an entry, to a particular blockchain. Blockchain entries allow users to exchange existing digital assets and/ or create or mint new ones according to the established process of mining or minting.

Key types

Digital assets represent a broad category that encompasses anything minted and exchanged on a blockchain. Examples of digital assets include NFTs, utility tokens, and similar types of assets that are created and can be tracked on the blockchain. Broadly classified, digital assets come in five categories: crypto assets, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and security tokens.

• Crypto assets: any digital store of value or medium of exchange (currency) that’s stored as entries on the blockchain. These assets can be used for investments and/ or payments (means of payment) and for creating coins to fund certain project.
• Stablecoins: a type of cryptocurrency that is designed for price stability. The prices of such cryptocurrencies are linked to fiat currencies, commodities or other cryptoassets. These coins can be used for payments, foreign exchange and cross-border payments and transfers.
• Non-fungible tokens: tokens that represent ownership of unique digital items (e.g., a work of art, a specific unit of production, units of divided ownership). An NFT certifies that the holder is the rightful owner of the underlying digital asset and can sell, trade or redeem it. NFTs can be used as a proof of identity and as point of access (to either a virtual or physical space), for tokenizing a supply chain to track inventory movement, as as evidence of ownership of virtual items (virtual space, games, avatars, virtual assets, etc.)
• Central bank digital currencies: a type of digital assets that represent a country’s fiat currency which is backed by its issuing central bank. These currencies can be used for payments and cross-border payments and transfers.
• Security tokens: digital assets that represent financial securities or investments, such as stocks and bonds. Security tokens can be used for tokenized versions of stocks (equity) and bonds and tokenized versions of real assets (real estate, property, plant, and equipment, etc.)