digital currency

There are numerous terms for money available only in nonphysical forms, and each has a slightly different scope. Digital currency is the broadest label, covering any kind of money or money-like asset that only has an electronic form. Some digital currencies are also virtual currencies, which are distinguished by being unregulated, issued by private individuals such as the developers of the currency, and generally localized to a particular community. Virtual currencies include tokens you can buy in online games, but they also include cryptocurrencies, which are distinguished by their decentralized trading networks and their use of advanced cryptography for security. The first widely adopted cryptocurrency was bitcoin, and all other cryptocurrencies are sometimes called altcoins. Another type of digital currency is a CBDC, or central bank digital currency. These are electronic-only versions of national currencies, such as China's digital yuan, and they are regulated by the same central bank that regulates the nondigital money supply in that country. A central bank digital currency is different from money stored electronically in an online bank account, because CBDCs are only issued and traded electronically, with no physical form.