Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is a balance
or a record stored in a distributed database on the Internet, in an electronic computer
database, within digital files or within a stored-value
card.Examples of digital currencies
include cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, central bank digital currencies and e-Cash.
A virtual currency has been defined in 2012 by the European Central Bank as "a type of
unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and
used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual
community".
The US Department of Treasury in 2013 defined it more tersely as "a medium of exchange that
operates like a currency in some environments, but does not have all the attributes of real
currency".The US Department of Treasury also stated that, "Virtual currency does not have
legal-tender status in any jurisdiction".