In practice and on simplistic terms, digital tokes are lines of computer code, to which a certain value may be assigned, and which are registered and controlled by an interconnected database system (peer-to-peer network) that keeps a permanent transaction record (blockchain), protecting the tokens of counterfeits or thefts, as well as the identity of their holder.

Without prejudice to the qualification difficulties this new reality poses and to the relevant regulatory issues that are commonly raised, as the European Securities and Markets Authority points out, that digital tokens based on cryptography and blockchain may be categorized in a variety of ways.