Glossary · assets and networks
What is a digital asset?
A digital asset is anything of value that exists only as a record, and whose ownership is proven by that record rather than by a physical object. In payments the term almost always means a crypto-asset: a unit of value on a blockchain, transferable without a bank in the middle.
The longer answer, and the two widths of the word
The phrase is used at two different widths, which is the main reason it causes confusion in a room with a lawyer in it.
Widely, a digital asset is any valuable digital record. A domain name, a software licence, an in-game item, a media file with rights attached. Accountants and lawyers usually mean this.
Narrowly, and always in payments, it means a crypto-asset. The distinguishing feature is that the record lives on a blockchain, so ownership transfers and verifies without an institution keeping the book. That is what makes it usable as a payment instrument rather than as an entry on somebody’s ledger.
EU regulation uses the narrow sense and names it. Under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation a crypto-asset is a digital representation of value or rights that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology. Firms that hold or move them for other people need authorisation, which is why the term appears on licences and not only in marketing.
For a business taking payments the translation is short. A digital asset is something a customer can send you directly, that arrives without a card network, and that you then decide whether to keep or convert.
Types
The kinds you will actually see at a checkout
Grouped by how they behave when someone pays you with one, which matters more than how they are built.
| Type | What it is | What it means for a payment |
|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency | A native network asset such as BTC, ETH, LTC, SOL or XRP | The price moves between the order and your conversion, so settlement choice decides who carries that |
| Stablecoin | An asset designed to hold a fixed value against a currency, such as USDC against the dollar or EURC against the euro | What you receive stays close to what you invoiced, which is why most business payments use these |
| Token on a smart-contract network | An asset issued on a network it does not own, such as an ERC-20 on Ethereum | The network matters as much as the asset. One token on two networks is two payment routes with different fees |
| Non-fungible token | A record of ownership of one specific item | Not a payment instrument. You may sell one, but nobody settles an invoice with it |
| Central bank digital currency | A digital form of state money issued by a central bank | Not something you can accept today. Worth knowing because it gets confused with stablecoins |
The assets a CoinGate merchant can be paid in all sit in the first three rows. See the current list and networks
Why the distinction matters if you take payments
Three places where the wrong sense of the word leads to the wrong decision.
Your provider’s licence uses the narrow one
An EU authorisation covers crypto-assets specifically. If a provider talks about digital assets in the wide sense while describing its permissions, ask which it means.
Frequently asked questions
Is a digital asset the same as a cryptocurrency?
No. Every cryptocurrency is a digital asset. Not every digital asset is a cryptocurrency, and in payments the term covers the whole crypto-asset group rather than native coins alone.
Is a stablecoin a digital asset?
Yes, and for most businesses it is the useful kind. Same networks, same settlement, without the price movement between invoice and settlement.
Which digital assets can I accept with CoinGate?
Eleven at the time of writing, all of them cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. The list changes, so read it at source. Assets and networks
Do I have to hold them?
No. Settlement can convert incoming payments into EUR, GBP or USD, so you never hold what the customer paid with. How settlement works