MiCA Recital (18) — preamble

(18) This Regulation classifies crypto-assets into three types, which should be distinguished from one another and subject to different requirements depending on the risks they entail. The classification is based on whether the crypto-assets seek to stabilise their value by reference to other assets. The first type consists of crypto-assets that aim to stabilise their value by referencing only one official currency. The function of such crypto-assets is very similar to the function of electronic money as defined in Directive 2009/110/EC. Like electronic money, such crypto-assets are electronic surrogates for coins and banknotes and are likely to be used for making payments. Those crypto-assets should be defined in this Regulation as ‘e-money tokens’. The second type of crypto-assets concerns ‘asset-referenced tokens’, which aim to stabilise their value by referencing another value or right, or combination thereof, including one or several official currencies. That second type covers all other crypto-assets, other than e-money tokens, whose value is backed by assets, so as to avoid circumvention and to make this Regulation future-proof. Finally, the third type consists of  crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, and covers a wide variety of crypto-assets, including utility tokens.