The European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) has published a study on crypto-assets, dealing with their key developments, regulatory concerns and responses.

It defines crypto-assets as a private digital asset that:
a) is recorded on some form of a digital distributed ledger secured with cryptography;
b) is neither issued nor guaranteed by a central bank or public authority;
c) can be used as a means of exchange and/or for investment purposes and/or to access a good or service.

The study, moreover, specifically takes into account ‘stablecoins’ and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), considers the relevant risks and sets out policy recommendations.