# What type of assets are crypto token?
Crypto assets are [securities](../concepts/security.md) contracts for [speculative](../concepts/speculation.md) investments.

See the [assets](../concepts/assets.md) comparison chart for an overview of how crypto asset compare to traditional investments and currencies.

Crypto assets are [not currency](is-bitcoin-currency.md) because they cannot fulfil the definition of [money](../concepts/money.md).

Crypto assets are not [commodities](../concepts/commodity.md) because they have no intrinsic value needed to fulfil any productive economic activity or human need. A hypothetical definition of their [use value](../concepts/use-value.md) depends on a circular logic.

Crypto assets may also be a form of [art](../concepts/art.md) under the fuzzy definition of "artistic intent".

## Comparables

Crypto assets have no direct correspondence in traditional markets, but have several pathological equivalences of traditional assets with absurd premises or terms. 

* Tulip [bubble](../concepts/bubble.md)
* Zero-coupon perpetual [bond](bond.md)
* Unspendable [currency](currency.md)
* [Equity](security.md) with no cash flows or dividends
* [Commodity](commodity.md) with no [use value](../concepts/use-value.md)
* Exchange traded [pyramid-scheme](pyramid-scheme.md)
* [Derivative](derivative.md) contract with no underlying
* [Libertarian](ideologies/libertarianism.md) performance [art](art.md)
* Self-organizing [Ponzi scheme](ponzi-scheme.md)
* [Indulgences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence)

## References
1. Krugman, Paul. 2018. ‘Bitcoin Is Basically a Ponzi Scheme’. The Seattle Times 30.
1. ———. 2013. ‘Bitcoin Is Evil’. Paul Krugman Blog (blog). 28 December 2013. https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/bitcoin-is-evil/.
1. ———. 2021a. ‘Technobabble, Libertarian Derp and Bitcoin’. The New York Times 21.
1. ———. 2021b. ‘The Brutal Truth About Bitcoin’. The New York Times 21.
1. Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. 2021. ‘Bitcoin, Currencies, and Fragility’. ArXiv:2106.14204 [Physics, q-Fin], July. http://arxiv.org/abs/2106.14204.
1. Shri T Rabi Sankar. n.d. ‘Cryptocurrencies – An Assessment’. Reserve Bank of India. Accessed 2 March 2022. https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_SpeechesView.aspx?Id=1196.
1. Cembalest, Michael. 2022. ‘The Maltese Falcoin: On Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains’. https://privatebank.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-wm-aem/global/pb/en/insights/eye-on-the-market/the-maltese-falcoin.pdf.
1. Bindseil, Ulrich, Patrick Papsdorf, and Jürgen Schaaf. 2022. ‘The Encrypted Threat: Bitcoin’s Social Cost and Regulatory Responses’. 7 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220107084533/https://www.suerf.org/docx/f_88b3febc5798a734026c82c1012408f5_38771_suerf.pdf.
1. Corradi, Fiammetta, and Philipp Höfner. 2018. ‘The Disenchantment of Bitcoin: Unveiling the Myth of a Digital Currency’. International Review of Sociology 28 (1): 193–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/03906701.2018.1430067.
1. Computerphile. 2018. Why Bitcoin Is Not Cash - Computerphile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9HH_dFcoLc.
1. Diehl, Stephen. 2021. ‘The Intellectual Incoherence of Cryptoassets’. 7 November 2021. https://www.stephendiehl.com/blog/crypto-absurd.html.
1. ———. n.d. ‘The Case Against Crypto’. Accessed 17 February 2022. https://www.stephendiehl.com/blog/against-crypto.html.
1. Weisenthal, Joe. n.d. ‘Bitcoin Is a Faith-Based Asset’. Accessed 2 March 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-21/bitcoin-is-a-faith-based-asset-joe-weisenthal.
1. Silverman, Gary. 2021. ‘Crypto Has “No Inherent Worth” But Is Good to Trade, Says Man Group Chief’. Financial Times, 26 July 2021. https://www.ft.com/content/9275baf4-0422-43a1-b8c9-9317882ca874.