virtual currency

[ vur-choo-uhl kur-uhn-see, kuhr- ]

noun

1. an unregulated currency available only in electronic form that is issued and controlled by its developers and usually used within a specific online community: Compare cryptocurrency ( def 1 ), digital currency ( def ).

   The game is free to play, but you must make purchases in the app if you want virtual currency to spend.

   As a virtual currency, bitcoin has less stability than a currency issued by a central bank.

Usage Note

What's the difference between cryptocurrency, virtual currency, and digital currency? See digital currency ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of virtual currency¹

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

The lawsuits were filed by 13 states separately and in the District of Columbia, where the attorney general also accused the company of running an unlicensed money transmission business via its "virtual currency" offering.

From BBC

Transactions were made, the Times notes, “using the virtual currency Bitcoin, and Mr. Ulbricht, operating under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, took in millions of dollars in commissions, prosecutors have said. They said Mr. Ulbricht had ‘developed a blueprint for a new way to use the Internet to undermine the law and facilitate criminal transactions,’ and that his conviction was ‘the first of its kind, and his sentencing is being closely watched.’

From Slate

The shortage of cash comes as Cubans grapple with a complex monetary system in which several currencies circulate, including a virtual currency, MLC, created in 2019.

From Seattle Times

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 13 firms — five of which are owned by an already sanctioned person — and 2 people who have all either helped build or operate blockchain-based services for, or enabled virtual currency payments in, the Russian financial sector, “thus enabling potential sanctions evasion,” according to U.S.

From Seattle Times

Included in Monday’s sanctions are a group of Moscow-based fintech companies and a Russia and UAE-based virtual currency exchange, among others.

From Seattle Times