Utility token
A utility token is a digital asset which gives the token holder access to services or products provided, usually, by the token issuer. U.S. regulation does not provide a safe harbor for utility tokens from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's rules on securities issuance and trading. Some regulators have taken the position that a utility token is "just another form" of security token.[1][2]
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, gave this definition of a utility token: "a utility token is a digital token that is purchased in order to provide digital access to an application or service."[3] One example of a utility token may be Ether, the native currency of the Ethereum platform. It, along with similar tokens, are considered "utility" tokens because they are not bought as an investment: they are bought in order to enable a user to utilize a digital service. Without them, a user cannot pay for services that are available only through the Ethereum platform.[4]