A crypto asset (often written crypto-asset) is a digital representation of value or of a right that is recorded and transferred using cryptography and a distributed ledger such as a blockchain. The term covers cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and many other tokens. It is one part of the wider family explained in full in the Digital Assets entry.
"Crypto-asset" is the formal term used in the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which defines it broadly and then sets out special rules for stablecoin-like tokens. MiCA excludes crypto assets that already count as financial instruments, such as tokenised shares or bonds, which stay under securities law; these are often called security tokens. The Financial Action Task Force uses a different, overlapping term, virtual asset, in its anti-money-laundering standards.
Because different laws use different words for similar things, whether something counts as a crypto asset, a security, or a form of electronic money can decide which licence a firm needs.