© Sarah Pabst-The New York Times
They have become an integral part of the financial landscape: cryptos, or as we at DNB call them: crypto-assets. People buy cryptos as an investment, use them as savings, or invest in them out of curiosity. Read more about the origins and use of crypto-assets here. You will also find information on the agencies that supervise crypto issuers and crypto service providers
Crypto-assets are used as a means of transferring value over the internet. The difference with a regular online payment in euro, or a voucher for an online shop, is that crypto trading is always done on a ‘blockchain’. This is best compared to a railway: the blockchain is the track, the cryptos are the trains running on it.
What further distinguishes crypto-assets from traditional money is that no central institution such as a government or central bank is involved in issuing them. In theory, anyone can develop a ‘coin’ and offer it for sale. There are tens of thousands of types of cryptos, including some familiar names such as Bitcoin, Cardano and Ether. Bitcoin was the largest of all, measured by market value, in early 2025.
The crypto-assets themselves are nothing more than a unique code created by one, or several, computers. These machines must do some complicated arithmetic to create the code in a process called ‘mining’, which is often particularly energy-intensive because of the massive computing power involved. With some crypto-assets, such as Bitcoin, there is a cap on how much can be mined in total. With other crypto-assets, participants can control what happens to a coin and thus influence whether more are issued.
Special legislation was enacted in 2024 for the crypto sector in the European Union: the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). As a result, a number of things have changed. The main purpose of this legislation is to regulate certain aspects of the crypto market and thus promote transparency. See this news release (Dutch). As a result of this new legislation, De Nederlandsche Bank's supervision focuses mainly on stablecoins issuers more on this below.
Roughly speaking, you can distinguish between two types of crypto-assets. The first type involves cryptos whose value is based on the simple fact that each ‘coin’ is a unique code, and there may or may not be a cap on the number issued. These are known as ‘unbacked’ crypto-assets. Bitcoin and Doge are examples of such unbacked crypto-assets. Under MiCAR, many of these types of cryptos are not yet subject to supervision. This means they are still very risky. Companies offering unbacked crypto services are subject to supervision by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM); see also their page (Dutch).
There are also 'backed' crypto-assets, commonly referred to as 'stablecoins'. These are crypto-assets that are designed to maintain as stable a value as possible by referencing another value. This may be a currency like the US dollar, but also a commodity like oil or gold. The reference value may also be a basket of products, goods or objects.
MiCAR classifies stablecoins that track the value of a basket of products as ‘Asset Referenced Tokens’ (ARTs). Stablecoins that track the value of a single currency are called ‘Electronic Money Tokens’ (EMTs). De Nederlandsche Bank supervises Dutch-licensed issuers of ART and EMT stablecoins.
Whether backed or unbacked, there is almost nowhere you can pay for products or services with cryptos. Buying cryptos is mainly done through intermediaries called 'brokers' such as Bitvavo or Kraken. Different brokers offer different services: some are just a trading platform where people can exchange euro for crypto-assets, others also arrange encrypted storage of crypto-assets so owners do not have to keep them on a computer at home. The AFM is responsible for supervising providers of these services that are licensed in the Netherlands.
Keep in mind that cryptos are risky. Any individual is free to develop a crypto, offer it for sale or stop selling it. Risks of theft or of loss caused by deception or insider trading are not uncommon. In addition, it is not always clear what their value is based on, and values can fluctuate wildly even following a social media post.
That said, the technology behind cryptos also offers opportunities: for payments, for communication, or in new areas we have not even thought of yet. If you find this topic interesting, we recommend reading this article (Dutch) in which Frank van Dunné of DNB and Lieke Helleman of the AFM share their views on cryptos, and in which they also talk a bit more about MiCAR.
Want to know which supervisory authority to contact for questions or complaints? See the table below.
DNB |
AFM |
No supervision |
|
Prudential requirements for crypto service providers |
Crypto-asset service providers* |
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs); memecoins; many unbacked cryptos such as Bitcoin and Tether*** |
|
Issuers of stablecoins (EMTs/ARTs) |
Some unbacked cryptos** |
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) |
* This includes the following services: (1) holding and managing crypto-assets on behalf of customers; (2) operating a crypto-asset trading platform; (3) exchanging crypto-assets for cash; (4) exchanging crypto-assets for other crypto-assets; (5) executing crypto-asset orders on behalf of customers; (6) placing crypto-assets; (7) receiving and transmitting crypto-asset orders on behalf of customers; (8) providing crypto-asset advice; (9) providing portfolio management for crypto-assets; (10) providing crypto-asset transfer services on behalf of customers.
** Supervision of these cryptos remains limited. However, efforts are being made to boost transparency by publishing white papers.
*** Existing unbacked cryptos are not required to publish whitepapers
Unknown does not necessarily mean unloved. DNB research shows that a majority of Dutch people would consider using the digital euro, should this digital counterpart to cash become available in the future.
Read more Majority of Dutch people willing to use digital euro
Digital payments are on the rise in the euro area, but cash was still the payment instrument used most often at points of sale (POS) in 2024. More than half (52%) of all POS transactions were paid in cash in 2024.
Read more Cash remains a key payment method in Europe, but its share continues to decline
On 7 November, Klaas Knot was a guest at Room for Discussion, the interview programme of students from the University of Amsterdam. How does Knot experience the challenges in the field of monetary policy? How do you balance economic growth, financial stability and the fight against inflation?
Read more Klaas Knot at Room for Discussion (studentsUvA)
Like eating, drinking and sleeping, spending money is simply part of life. But that doesn’t necessarily make it fun. Indeed, most people dislike spending money, according to research by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB).
Read more Spending money hurts, but less if you’re a teenager paying cash