Digital asset is an information resource, derivative of the right to a value and circulating in the distributed ledger in the form of a unique identifier.
The term takes into account the essential semantic features of the phenomenon under consideration and is characterized by four components: economic, legal, information, and value.
- Economic component in the context of the definition of the term “digital asset”. This component’s significance in the financial field is represented by a unique identifier.
- Legal component is represented in the legal field by a derivative of the right. A digital asset is not the right to a value in its interpretation, but it has attributes of a derivative of the right to a value.
- Information component is represented in the IT field by an information resource circulating in the distributed ledger. A digital asset is an information resource in the sense that the information on a value presented in a digital form has such main properties of an information resource as:
- information is structured according to certain parameters and categories;
- information is recorded on a digital medium;
- information can be stored, transmitted, exchanged, used, etc. In addition, a digital asset in our understanding has an additional property – information on a value is formed by the owner of this value.
- Value component is represented in the field of tangible and intangible assets by the “value” component. Digital asset is a kind of a guaranteed right to claim a certain value inherent in this digital asset. In other words, a digital asset serves as a digital display of value.
