This policy brief aims to give policy-makers an overview of crypto’s core concepts, and highlight some of the policy questions raised by its increasing adoption by citizens and organisations.

It begins with a short explanation of the crypto movement’s ideological origins, offers basic primers in cryptocurrencies, blockchain, web3, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse, and concludes with a discussion of the policy implications and suggestions for further reading. Short case studies and a glossary of crypto terminology (denoted by italics) are interspersed throughout.