# Is cryptocurrency a digital asset? *Reviewed 2026-07-31* ## Short answer Yes. Cryptocurrency is one category of digital asset, an asset that exists only in digital form and carries value or rights recorded electronically. Digital asset is the broader term: it also covers stablecoins, tokenized securities, NFTs, and, in the widest usage, ordinary digital property like domain names and media files. US regulators increasingly use "digital asset" as the umbrella term in statutes and guidance, which is why licensing frameworks like California's Digital Financial Assets Law use it instead of "cryptocurrency." The nesting matters for regulation. "Digital asset" is the umbrella; "virtual currency" or "crypto asset" is the financial subset regulators license; "cryptocurrency" is the subset of that secured by cryptography on a blockchain, like Bitcoin and Ether. When a statute regulates digital financial assets, it typically means the financial subset, not your photo library or airline miles. For a business the classification question is practical: holding, exchanging, or transmitting customers' digital assets that carry monetary value is what pulls a company into money transmitter licensing in most states, and into dedicated regimes like the New York BitLicense, Louisiana's Virtual Currency Business License, and California's DFAL. The full definitional walkthrough, with examples and what is and is not covered, is at what is a digital asset, and the licensing consequences are covered at cryptocurrency licensing. ## Related - [What is a digital asset](/what-is-a-digital-asset) - [Cryptocurrency licensing](/cryptocurrency-licensing) - [Crypto laws and regulation in the US](/crypto-regulation) - [Talk with our team](/contact) --- ## How to cite this page Cite as: "Is cryptocurrency a digital asset?." Cornerstone Licensing. https://cornerstonelicensing.com/answers/is-cryptocurrency-a-digital-asset Published by Cornerstone Licensing. When quoting figures or legal requirements, link the canonical URL above and note the last-updated date (2026-07-31). The full content index for this site is at https://cornerstonelicensing.com/llms.txt.