Proposal for a Comprehensive (Crypto) Asset Taxonomy

TL;DR

This paper proposes a comprehensive taxonomy for classifying both traditional and cryptographic assets using 14 attributes, aiming to unify understanding and terminology across stakeholders.

Contribution

It introduces a structured, holistic classification framework that extends existing models to include new cryptographic assets, tested with real-world examples.

Findings

The taxonomy effectively classifies assets like cash and bitcoin.

It provides a standardized terminology for diverse asset types.

The framework enhances stakeholder understanding and consistency.

Abstract

Developments in the distributed ledger technology have led to new types of assets with a broad range of purposes. Although some classification frameworks for common instruments from traditional finance and some for these new, so called cryptographic assets already exist and are used, a holistic approach to integrate both worlds is missing. The present paper fills this research gap by identifying 14 attributes, each of which is assigned different characteristics, that can be used to classify all types of assets in a structured manner. Our proposed taxonomy which is an extension of existing classification frameworks, summarises these findings in a morphological box and is tested for practicability by classifying exemplary assets like cash and bitcoin. The final classification framework can help to ensure that the various stakeholders, such as investors or supervisors, have a consistent view of the different types of assets, and in particular of their characteristics, and also helps to establish standardised terminology.