Block VI · Finally: speculation, crypto and fraud · Module 5 # Crypto and tokenisation — price, value and rules ## Entering the module **One sentence:** an asset is worth as much as the right or the income that stands behind it; when the only thing behind the price is the expectation that someone else will pay more, that is **[speculation](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/speculation/)**. **Chapters:** 1. What crypto is: a shared notebook with no owner 2. The distinction: a stake or speculation 3. Where the price comes from 4. [Stablecoins](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/stablecoin/): backed, unbacked, "algorithmic" 5. The stories that repeat: Mt. Gox, TerraUSD, FTX 6. The rules in the EU: MiCA and the honest warning 7. Tokenisation of real assets: a token is worth as much as the right behind it 8. How to read a token offer 9. The [digital euro](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/digital-euro/): it is not crypto → The iron principle of the module 🎓 **Academic basis.** In a 2018 analysis, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) concluded that [bitcoin](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/bitcoin/) does not fulfil the functions of money (stable value, efficiency, trust) and looks more like a speculative asset ✔ (BIS, AER 2018, Chapter V — the wording is a paraphrase). This is not a verdict on the technology — it is a verdict on its **role as money**. --- ## For the youngest · ages 6–7 🐣 **The youngest:** This topic is for older children. But it has one lovely idea for the youngest. Sometimes money cannot be seen — it is only a record. The record says who gave what to whom. When many people keep the same record, nobody can secretly change it. **Play together (5 minutes):** Sit in a circle and pass a button to each other. After every pass, everyone draws an arrow on their own sheet: from whom to whom. At the end, compare the sheets — are they the same? **A question for the evening:** "How would we know who gave what, if there were no coins?" --- ## Chapter 1 · What crypto is: a shared notebook with no owner 👧 **Child** Imagine a notebook held by hundreds of people. When someone gives something to someone else, everyone writes it down. Nobody can rub out an old line, because the others remember. This is the idea behind **[blockchain](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/blockchain/)**: a shared notebook with no single master. 🧑 **Teenager** A **blockchain** is a chain of blocks of records. Each block contains a "fingerprint" (a hash) of the previous one — if you change an old record, the chain breaks and everyone sees it. **Bitcoin** is the first big example: the idea was published as a white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto on 31.10.2008, and the first block came on 3.01.2009 ✔. **Ethereum** (2015) added **smart contracts** — programs that run by their rules, without an intermediary ✔. 🧔 **Adult** The technology solves a specific problem: **how to keep a shared ledger of ownership without a central bookkeeper**. Advantages: transparency, it is hard to falsify, it can be programmed. The cost: energy or fees, speed and, most importantly — **if something goes wrong, there is nobody to turn to**. Lose your key — there is no "forgotten password". Send to the wrong address — there is no "undo". That is why we separate three things that are often mixed up: - **the technology** (the blockchain) — a tool; - **the token** (the record) — what it **represents**; - **the price** (the market) — how much someone is willing to pay **today**. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "Blockchain is anonymous." - Truth: it is **pseudonymous** — the addresses are visible, and their link to real people can be established. **Who [profits](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/profit/)?** Whoever uses the technology for a clear purpose. Also those who sell "shovels" (exchanges, fees, courses) during a gold rush. **→ Continue at the source** - Satoshi Nakamoto, "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" (2008): https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf ✔ (exists; read the content in the original). - ethereum.org — official introduction: https://ethereum.org/what-is-ethereum/ ✔ --- ## Chapter 2 · The distinction: a stake or speculation 👧 **Child** An apple tree gives apples. If you buy part of the tree, you get part of the apples. But if you buy a "ticket" that says "will be worth more tomorrow", and there is no tree — you are paying someone who believes that someone else will pay even more. 🧑 **Teenager** The difference matters **[F]**: - A **share** is a **stake in a real company** — a right to part of the profit and part of the assets (Module 3). Its price can go up and down, but behind it there is a company, sales, assets. - **Speculation** is buying **only because you expect the price to rise**, whatever stands behind it. It can happen with a share (when you buy only "because it is going up") and it happens in its purest form with most crypto-assets. - **Crypto**, as a rule, **has no company, no profit and no assets behind it** — its price is only market expectation (with exceptions, which we look at in Chapter 7). 🧔 **Adult** The price can be moved by belief, noise and the [fear of missing out](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/herd-behaviour/). If the asset has no **value of its own** — a right, profit or property — there is nothing for the price to fall back on when the expectation fades. Then only what is inside remains. Honesty requires two clarifications: 1. **Not everything in crypto is only expectation.** A token that represents a real right (Chapter 7) has a basis. A stablecoin backed by a reserve (Chapter 4) has a basis. 2. **Not every share is an "asset" in the sense of Module 3.** Buying a share only because "everyone is buying it" is speculation, not investment. The yardstick is the one we already have: **what do you get, apart from the hope that the price will rise?** **Myth → truth** - Myth: "Expensive means valuable." - Truth: the price is the result of demand today; the value is what the asset brings over time (profit, rent, [dividend](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/dividend/), usefulness). **Who profits?** The early ones — if they get out in time. The sellers of a "story". The late ones lose. **→ Continue at the source** - Module 3 — Assets and cash equivalents. - Benjamin Graham, *The Intelligent Investor* (1949) — the distinction "investment versus speculation" — through the Guide ✔ (first edition: Harper & Brothers, 1949). --- ## Chapter 3 · Where the price comes from 👧 **Child** If everyone in class wants the same rare card, its price goes up. But if tomorrow nobody wants it, the price falls. The card has not become worse — simply nobody wants it. 🧑 **Teenager** Three sources of price **[F]**: 1. **Profit/income** — the asset brings money (dividend, rent). 2. **Usefulness** — it serves a purpose (a house, a tool, a service). 3. **Expectation** — others will pay more. Crypto usually relies mainly on the third. If there is no income and the usefulness is weak, the price is **pure expectation**. 🧔 **Adult** Consequences **[F]**: - **Volatility is high**, because there is no "anchor" — the price moves with attention and mood. - **Past growth is no guarantee** — especially when it comes from new investors, not from new value. - **The link with "safety" is weak**: it is not "digital gold" in terms of safety, nor a [currency](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/currency/) in terms of stability. That is why the principle in Module 8, "profit is not money", has a crypto counterpart: **price is not value**. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "If the price has gone up for a long time, it will keep going." - Truth: past growth says nothing about the future; in a [Ponzi scheme](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/ponzi-scheme/) the growth is also "beautiful" — until it stops. **Who profits?** Whoever sells at the high price. Exchanges earn fees both when prices rise and when they fall. **→ Continue at the source** - Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Annual Economic Report 2018, Chapter V: "Cryptocurrencies: looking beyond the hype" ✔ — https://www.bis.org/publications/aer-2018/cryptocurrencies-looking-beyond-hype --- ## Chapter 4 · Stablecoins: backed, unbacked, "algorithmic" 👧 **Child** Imagine a token that says: "one token = one euro". If there is a real euro in a safe behind it, you can swap it. If there is not, the token is only a promise. 🧑 **Teenager** A **stablecoin** is a token that promises a stable value (e.g. 1 euro). Three kinds **[F]**: - **backed by money** — there is a reserve in an account; - **backed by other assets** — the reserve is made of different assets; - **"algorithmic"** — the stability comes from a formula and another token, not from a reserve. 🧔 **Adult** The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) makes a distinction ✔ (see Module 3): - **e-money tokens** (pegged to a single currency): issued only by banks and electronic money institutions; the holder has the right to redeem them **at par value at any time** and free of charge (Articles 48–49). - **asset-referenced tokens**: require a **separate reserve, protected if the issuer goes bankrupt** (Article 36). The lesson of **TerraUSD (UST)**: in May 2022 the "algorithmic" stablecoin lost its link to the dollar, and the linked token LUNA collapsed ✔ (7–10 May 2022). **"Backed by an algorithm" is not backed.** **Myth → truth** - Myth: "A stablecoin is always worth 1 euro." - Truth: it is worth as much as the issuer can pay out. Ask **what backs it, who keeps it and what happens if the issuer goes bankrupt**. **Who profits?** The issuer — from the [interest](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/interest/) on the reserves. The holder, as a rule, receives no interest (under MiCA it is prohibited, Articles 40 and 50 ✔). **→ Continue at the source** - EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1114/oj ✔ - BIS — analyses of stablecoins: BIS, AER 2025, Chapter III — https://www.bis.org/publications/aer-2025/next-generation-monetary-financial-system ✔ --- ## Chapter 5 · The stories that repeat: Mt. Gox, TerraUSD, FTX 👧 **Child** People often lose not because the technology is bad, but because they gave the key to someone else and trusted them completely. 🧑 **Teenager** Three stories that teach the same thing: - **Mt. Gox (2014)** — the largest bitcoin exchange at the time stops working; about 850,000 BTC disappear, and as early as March 2014 the company announces that it has found about 200,000 of them in an old wallet ✔ (https://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/20/mtgox-says-it-found-200000-bitcoins-in-forgotten-wallet.html). - **TerraUSD/LUNA (2022)** — the "algorithmic" stablecoin collapses (Chapter 4) ✔. - **FTX (2022)** — a large exchange files for bankruptcy on 11.11.2022; its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, is found guilty in the United States in November 2023 and sentenced to 25 years in prison on 28.03.2024 ✔. What they have in common: the investors **entrusted their money to an intermediary**, not to the technology itself. **Trust does not disappear** — it moves from the bank to the exchange. 🧔 **Adult** The principles that follow **[P]**: 1. **"Not your keys, not your coins"** — if the key is with an intermediary, the money is the intermediary's [debt](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/debt/) to you, not yours. 2. **Deposits with an exchange are not deposits with a bank** — the [deposit guarantee](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/deposit-guarantee/) (in the EU, up to €100,000 per depositor per bank, under the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive 2014/49/EU, Article 6(1) ✔) does not apply to them. 3. **Transparency of reserves**: proof of reserves and independent audits are the minimum. 4. **Spread the risk**: do not put more in one place than you can afford to lose (Module 8, principle 2). > **Example: Bulgaria** — The guarantee of up to €100,000 per depositor per bank is paid by the Bulgarian Deposit Insurance Fund ✔. Crypto balances on an exchange are not covered. > > **Check in your country** — Which body runs the deposit guarantee scheme where you live, and which institutions does it cover? Look on the website of your [central bank](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/central-bank/) or of the national deposit guarantee scheme. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "Big exchanges are safe — they are big." - Truth: size is not a reassuring signal: the bigger the network, the bigger the scale of the collapse when trust disappears. **Who profits?** The intermediary — as long as new money keeps flowing in. After the collapse — the lawyers and the liquidators. **→ Continue at the source** - Court documents and reports on the FTX bankruptcy: https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/FTX/ ✔ - Module 17 — Fraud. --- ## Chapter 6 · The rules in the EU: MiCA and the honest warning 👧 **Child** Even when something new is ready, it is good to have rules — like on a playground. They do not spoil the game, they make it safer. 🧑 **Teenager** The EU has a special law for crypto — **MiCA** (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114). It requires: - **authorisation** for firms that offer crypto services; - a **white paper** (a description) for new tokens; - **rules for stablecoins** (Chapter 4). But MiCA does **not** make crypto safe: it does not guarantee the price and it does **not** cover everything. 🧔 **Adult** Three facts **[F]**: 1. The rules on stablecoins have applied since 30.06.2024, and those on service providers since 30.12.2024 ✔. 2. Firms that operated under national law before 30.12.2024 could continue **until 1.07.2026** at the latest, or until they were authorised or refused; during this period their customers did not have MiCA protection (✔ ESMA/EBA, 06.10.2025). 3. **Joint warning by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs: EBA, EIOPA, ESMA) of 06.10.2025:** crypto-assets carry risk, and protection depends on the specific asset — it may be **limited or absent**; [compensation schemes](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/investor-protection/) may not apply. They advise checking in the ESMA register whether the provider is authorised (✔). > **Example: Bulgaria** — The transitional period ended on **1 July 2026**. From that date, crypto-asset services may be offered only by licensed providers — licensed by the [Financial Supervision Commission](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/fsc/) (FSC, КФН) or by another EU Member State with a notification to the FSC. Customers of an unlicensed provider must end their relationship with it ✔ (FSC: https://www.fsc.bg/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/saobsthenie-do-investitorite-v-kriptoaktivi.pdf, in Bulgarian). > > **Check in your country** — Which authority licenses crypto-asset service providers where you live (usually the [financial supervisor](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/financial-regulators/) or the central bank)? Did your country use the full transitional period, or a shorter one? Before you transfer money, look up the provider in the ESMA register (link in Chapter 8). **Myth → truth** - Myth: "There is regulation, so it is safe." - Truth: regulation reduces some risks (fraud by the intermediary), but it **does not guarantee a profit and does not cover the price**. **Who profits?** The licensed providers — trust; the consumer — when they check. The unlicensed lose, and so do those who do not ask. **→ Continue at the source** - ESMA/EBA/EIOPA — warning, 06.10.2025: https://esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/eu-supervisory-authorities-warn-consumers-risks-and-limited-protection-certain ✔ - EUR-Lex — MiCA: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1114/oj ✔ - FSC (Bulgaria) — https://www.fsc.bg ✔ · the notice on the end of the transition: https://www.fsc.bg/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/saobsthenie-do-investitorite-v-kriptoaktivi.pdf (in Bulgarian) --- ## Chapter 7 · Tokenisation of real assets: a token is worth as much as the right behind it 👧 **Child** Imagine a cinema ticket. It is not the film — it is a **right** to go in and watch. If the ticket is real and the cinema accepts it, it is worth something. If someone just drew it, it is worth nothing. 🧑 **Teenager** **Tokenisation** means that a **right to a real asset** (a stake in a company, a share, a property) is recorded as a **token** on a blockchain. The idea is good — easier transfer, a clearer history. But everything depends on one question: **do the law and the company recognise this token as the right?** If not, the token is only a "ticket" with no cinema. 🧔 **Adult** Here it is clear **how the instrument is applied** — not only what it is. **Three questions for any "real asset" token [P]:** 1. **What exactly is the right?** — a stake in a company, a claim, a contract for income, ownership? Or something "similar to" it? 2. **Where is it registered?** — in the [companies register](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/commercial-register/), in the book of shareholders, in the central securities depository? A token without registration often remains just a record on the blockchain. 3. **Who guarantees performance?** — who pays the dividend, who keeps the register, who settles disputes? **Case 1 — Robinhood and "stock tokens" in the EU.** Since 30.06.2025, Robinhood has offered users in the EU tokens linked to the price of US shares; the tokens are issued at first on the Arbitrum network and later on Robinhood's own network, which is still being developed (✔ Robinhood, announcement of 30.06.2025, opened 21.10.2026). Soon afterwards the firm also gave away tokens linked to the unlisted OpenAI and SpaceX (⚠ according to media — TechCrunch, CNBC). The firm states that the tokens are **not equity** but **derivatives** (contracts that track the price), structured under MiFID II. OpenAI stated publicly (02.07.2025) that these tokens are not OpenAI equity, that it had not approved the tokens and that **any transfer of equity in OpenAI requires its approval** (⚠ according to media; the original post on X cannot be opened without logging in). The central bank of Lithuania, which supervises Robinhood in the EU, reportedly asked for clarification (⚠ according to media — CNBC; no official notice from the bank was found). **The lesson:** a token that *looks like* a share does not give the rights of a shareholder — it gives rights under a contract with the token's issuer. https://www.theblock.co/post/360919/robinhood-ceo-says-openai-and-spacex-stock-tokens-are-derivatives-rather-than-equity-after-pushback-from-sam-altmans-firm **Case 2 — the EU regime for securities on a blockchain (Regulation (EU) 2022/858).** The so-called **DLT Pilot Regime** has applied since 23.03.2023 and allows special platforms to trade and settle securities on a blockchain under supervision (✔ ESMA). ESMA had to present a review to the Commission by 24.03.2026; the review was published on 25.06.2025 and assesses the regime positively, while also pointing to earlier weaknesses — little interest, settlement, interoperability, custody of keys (✔ according to overviews by DLA Piper; see also ESMA). On 4.12.2025 the Commission proposed changes that widen the scope and scale of the regime, because so far it has been little used (✔ European Commission — "Questions and answers on the market integration package", 4.12.2025, opened 21.10.2026); the proposal has not yet been adopted. **The lesson:** the law moves slowly, but **securities recorded on a blockchain according to the rules are real** — because there is a register, supervision and law behind them. https://esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/digital-finance-and-innovation/dlt-pilot-regime **Case 3 — a tokenised stake in a [private limited company](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/limited-company/) or a partnership.** Example: a token in exchange for a real stake in a real company or partnership. The general principle in EU countries: **company law is national**. Who may become a member of a company, how a stake is transferred and when the transfer takes effect are set by the law of the country where the company is registered — usually with a written contract, often a notary, the consent of the other members and an entry in the companies register (*) (a general principle; check the law of the country concerned). > **Example: Bulgaria** — What Bulgarian law says (✔ Commerce Act, text on lex.bg, opened 21.10.2026): - the contract for the transfer of a **company share** in a limited liability company (in Bulgarian: OOD) is concluded with **notarial certification of the signatures and the content, done at the same time**, and is entered in the Commercial Register (Commerce Act, Article 129(2)) ✔; - a transfer to a third party requires the **consent of the general meeting of the partners** — by a majority of **more than three quarters of the capital**, unless the memorandum of association requires more (Commerce Act, Article 129(1); Article 137(1)(2) and (3)) ✔; - admitting a new partner takes effect **from the partner's entry in the Commercial Register** (Commerce Act, Article 140(4)) ✔. > > **Check in your country** — How is a share in a private company transferred where you live: is a notary needed, whose consent, and from when does the transfer take effect (the contract or the entry in the register)? Ask a notary or a company lawyer; the European e-Justice Portal has an overview of the business registers of the Member States. Therefore **a token on a blockchain alone does not transfer a stake in a limited company.** A token can be a **convenient record or a "key" to rights that are already legally established** — for example, if the **articles of association and the contract** explicitly link the right to the token and the procedure has been followed before the notary and the register. In other words, the token *follows* the right, it does not *create* it. Everything else is a promise. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "A token of a stake = a stake." - Truth: **a token is worth as much as the right behind it** and as much as that right can be exercised. If the right cannot be exercised before a court, a register and the other partners, the token is just a card. **Who profits?** The platform — from fees on issuance and trading. The founder — if it attracts money. The investor profits **only if the right is real and can be exercised**. **→ Continue at the source** - ESMA — DLT Pilot Regime: https://esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/digital-finance-and-innovation/dlt-pilot-regime ✔ - EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2022/858 (the DLT pilot regime; applies from 23.03.2023): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/858/oj ✔ - Bulgaria: Commerce Act, Articles 129, 137 and 140 — https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/-14917630 (in Bulgarian) ✔ (opened 21.10.2026); and a notary for a specific case. - Robinhood — announcement of 30.06.2025: https://robinhood.com/newsroom/robinhood-launches-stock-tokens-reveals-layer-2-blockchain-and-expands-crypto-suite-in-eu-and-us-with-perpetual-futures-and-staking/ ✔ - The Block — Robinhood/OpenAI (⚠ secondary source): the link above. --- ## Chapter 8 · How to read a token offer 👧 **Child** Before you take something new, ask: "What do I get? Who is giving it to me? If I don't like it, can I give it back?" 🧑 **Teenager** A checklist: 1. **What is it?** — a token for what. 2. **Who issues it?** — a company, a person, an anonymous team? 3. **Is there a white paper and an authorisation?** (MiCA) 4. **Where does the value come from?** — income, a right, usefulness, or only expectation? 5. **What happens if the issuer disappears?** 6. **Can I get out and take my money back?** 🧔 **Adult** **Red flags [P]** (the same as in Module 17): - "guaranteed" returns; - pressure to decide quickly; - "a limited number of tokens" and "only for early birds"; - an anonymous team; - a platform that is **not in the register**; - promises that "the price only goes up". **If you still decide to take part — rules of behaviour [P]** (not advice to buy): - an amount whose **loss you can bear** without harming your reserve (Module 8, principle 2); - record **every transaction**. Gains from selling and exchanging crypto-assets are taxed under **national** law. At EU level, the rules on tax reporting were extended to crypto-assets: under DAC8 (Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 ✔ — applies from 1 January 2026, Article 2(1); exchange between tax authorities within nine months after the end of the calendar year, Article 1, new Article 8ad(6)), crypto-asset service providers have collected data on their EU users' transactions since 1 January 2026 and report it to the tax authorities (the first reports are due in 2027) ✔ (European Commission, taxation and customs, via search, 21.10.2026). DAC8 governs reporting, not the tax itself; - the **keys** — under your control, with a copy in a safe place; - **never share** a seed phrase or a key with anyone (Module 17, Chapter 7). > **Example: Bulgaria** — Income from selling and exchanging crypto-assets is taxable and is declared in the [annual tax return](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/annual-tax-return/); the rules are published by the [National Revenue Agency](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/nra/) (NRA, НАП), https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/godishen-danak-varhu-dohdite/virtualni-valuti (in Bulgarian) ✔ (opened 21.10.2026). > > **Check in your country** — How does your tax authority treat gains from crypto-assets (as income, as [capital gains](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/capital-gain/), with an exemption threshold or a holding period)? Look for a page on crypto-assets or "virtual currencies" on the tax authority's website, and keep a record of every purchase, sale and exchange. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "If I don't buy now, I'll miss out on everything." - Truth: the fear of missing out is the most common tool of fraud. The next "chance" always has another one after it. **Who profits?** Whoever asks questions. **→ Continue at the source** - ESMA — register of authorised providers (MiCA): https://www.esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/digital-finance-and-innovation/markets-crypto-assets-regulation-mica ✔ - European Commission — DAC8: https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation/tax-transparency-cooperation/administrative-co-operation-and-mutual-assistance/directive-administrative-cooperation-dac/dac8_en ✔ (opened 21.10.2026) - EUR-Lex — Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/2226/oj ✔ - Bulgaria: NRA — "Virtual currencies" (tax treatment of income from crypto-assets): https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/godishen-danak-varhu-dohdite/virtualni-valuti (in Bulgarian) ✔ (opened 21.10.2026). --- ## Chapter 9 · The digital euro: it is not crypto 👧 **Child** The digital euro is the same euro, but on a phone — from the same central bank. It is not "a different coin". 🧑 **Teenager** The **digital euro** is a project of the [European Central Bank](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/ecb/) (ECB) for **central bank money in digital form** — like a banknote, but on the screen. The difference from crypto **[F]**: - it is issued by the **ECB**, not by a private company; - it is **legal tender**; - its value is always **1 euro = 1 euro**; - it has no "price" that jumps. 🧔 **Adult** Where things stand: since 30.10.2025 the ECB has been in a new phase; a 12-month pilot is expected from the second half of 2027; a first issuance in 2029 is possible if the regulation is adopted in 2026, and the ECB decides to issue a digital euro only after its adoption (✔ ECB — press release of 30.10.2025 and the pilot page, opened 21.10.2026). The Council adopted its position on 19.12.2025, and on 9.07.2026 the European Parliament voted to start negotiations with the Council (⚠ according to reprints of the Parliament's press release; the official pages did not open). **As of 21.10.2026 the regulation has not been adopted** (⚠ no final agreement was found). The benefit of understanding this: the digital euro, if it comes, is **"money with backing" in the purest sense** (Module 2, Module 4), not an asset for speculation. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "The digital euro is crypto." - Truth: it is central bank money — with the same role as banknotes, not like bitcoin. **Who profits?** The payer — convenience and safety (if it is adopted). Banks and payment systems adapt. It is not an investment. **→ Continue at the source** - ECB — the digital euro: https://ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/pilot/html/index.en.html ✔ (opened 21.10.2026; ⚠ adoption of the regulation — see above). - ECB — press release of 30.10.2025 ("Eurosystem moving to next phase of digital euro project"): https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.pr251030~8c5b5beef0.en.html ✔ --- ## The iron principle of the module > **Price is not value. A token is worth as much as the right, the profit or the property behind it — and as much as you can exercise it. Behind expectation alone there is nothing for the price to fall back on.** - 👧 Child: a ticket is worth something if the cinema accepts it. - 🧑 Teenager: "what do I get, apart from the hope that the price will rise?" - 🧔 Adult: - three questions for every token (right · registration · [guarantor](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/guarantor/)); - the register before the transfer; - the keys — yours; - only an amount whose loss you can bear; - no "guaranteed" returns. **Your step in Pecuvo:** (1) In your wallet, create a space called "Speculation and crypto" — **separate** from your reserve and your goals (Module 8, principle 6). (2) Set a ceiling (e.g. a percentage of your [net worth](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/net-worth/) that you decide yourself) and do not exceed it. (3) For every holding, write down the three questions (right · registration · guarantor) and where you checked. (4) Calculate your net worth (Module 9) **without** these assets too — to see clearly what remains if they go to zero. ## Check yourself (3 questions per level) - 👧 1. What is a shared notebook (a blockchain)? 2. Why is a cinema ticket worth something only if the cinema accepts it? 3. What do you ask before you take something new? - 🧑 1. What is the difference between a share and speculation? 2. What does an "algorithmic" stablecoin mean, and why did TerraUSD collapse? 3. Which three questions do you ask about a "real asset token"? - 🧔 1. Why is a deposit with an exchange not like a deposit with a bank? 2. Why does a token alone not transfer a stake in a limited company? 3. What does the ESAs' warning of 06.10.2025 say? ## Sources (summary) - ✔ MiCA (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114), Articles 36, 40, 48–50, 49; ✔ ESAs warning (06.10.2025) and the transitional period until 1.07.2026; ✔ DLT Pilot Regime — applies from 23.03.2023 (ESMA); ESMA review — 25.06.2025; ✔ guarantee up to €100,000 per depositor (Bulgarian Deposit Insurance Fund; ✔ Directive 2014/49/EU, Article 6(1), for the EU rule — official text, publications.europa.eu, CELEX 32014L0049, 21.10.2026); ✔ DAC8 — data collection from 1.01.2026 (European Commission; ✔ Directive (EU) 2023/2226, Article 2(1) and new Article 8ad(6) — official text, CELEX 32023L2226, 21.10.2026). MiCA Articles 36(2), 39(2), 40, 48–50 and 143(3) re-read in the official text (CELEX 32023R1114) on 21.10.2026 ✔. - ✔ Robinhood — the EU launch and Arbitrum (announcement of 30.06.2025); ⚠ the OpenAI/SpaceX tokens, OpenAI's position and the inquiry by the central bank of Lithuania (according to media); ✔ the digital euro — the phase, the pilot and 2029 (ECB); ⚠ the legislative process (according to reprints); ✔ Bulgarian Commerce Act, Articles 129, 137 and 140 (lex.bg, opened 21.10.2026); ✔ NRA — virtual currencies; ✔ European Commission — proposal for changes to the DLT regime (4.12.2025). - Checked on 19.10.2026 (the ✔/⚠ status is given on each line above): Nakamoto (2008); BIS Annual Economic Report 2018 (Chapter V); Mt. Gox, TerraUSD and FTX (primary sources); Graham (1949); NRA — crypto; FSC; EUR-Lex 2022/858.