ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the relationship between crypto-assets, financial inclusion and financial stability in EU and discusses the features of a regulatory framework for crypto-assets, which would help to advance financial inclusion without threatening market stability. The chapter also discusses the potential adoption of central bank-issued digital currencies as an alternative to crypto-assets. Digital currencies received a boost from the Covid-19 pandemic which forced the economies in many countries to switch to online function raising the significance of and intensifying the debate about the role of digital currencies. The economic fallout from the pandemic also highlighted the significance of effective policy responses to address rising financial exclusion in European Union, which was particularly affected.
