Virtual currency
Virtual currency, also known as virtual money, is 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 . The (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Treasury, defined virtual currency in its guidance published in 2013. In 2014, the defined virtual currency as “a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority, nor necessarily attached to a , but is accepted by or as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically”. By contrast, a digital currency that is issued by a central bank is defined as “”.
Contents
Definitions
In 2012, the defined virtual currency 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”.
In 2013, (FinCEN), a bureau of the , in contrast to its regulations defining currency as “the coin and paper money of the United States or of any other country that [i] is designated as and that [ii] circulates and [iii] is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issuance”, also called “real currency” by FinCEN, defined virtual currency as “a medium of exchange that operates like a currency in some environments, but does not have all the attributes of real currency”. In particular, virtual currency does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction.
In 2014, the defined virtual currency as “a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority, nor necessarily attached to a , but is accepted by or as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically”.
History of the term
In his written testimony to the 2013 congressional hearing on virtual currencies stated, “virtual currencies have been viewed as a form of ‘electronic money’ or area of payment system technology that has been evolving over the past 20 years”, in reference to a congressional hearing on the Future of Money before the Committee on Banking and Financial Services on 11 October 1995. The Internet currency was created in 1999. The term “virtual currency” appears to have been coined around 2009, paralleling the development of digital currencies and .
Although the correct classification is “digital currency”, US government institutions have preferred and uniformly adopted the term “virtual currency”, first the US Treasury’s FinCEN, then the in 2012 and in the in its 2013 report and other government agencies testifying at the November 2013 U.S. Senate hearing about bitcoin like the , the , the .
Limits on being currency
Attributes of a real currency, as defined in 2011 in the , such as real paper money and real coins are simply that they act as and circulate “customarily”.
The decided in March 2014, to treat bitcoin and other virtual currencies as property for tax purposes, not as currency. Some have suggested that this makes bitcoins not —that is one bitcoin is not identical to another bitcoin, unlike one gallon of crude oil being identical to another gallon of crude oil—making bitcoin unworkable as a currency. Others have stated that a measure like would restore fungibility to the currency. Coupons remained unchanged for 100 years until new technology enabling credit cards became more common in the 1980s, and were invented. The latest incarnation drives the increase of internet commerce, online services, development of online communities and games. Here virtual or game currency can be bought, but not exchanged back into real money. The virtual currency is akin to a coupon. Examples are by various airlines, Microsoft Points, Nintendo Points, Facebook Credits, Ven (currency) and .
Convertible virtual currencies
A virtual currency that can be bought with and sold back for legal tender is called a . It can be decentralized, as for example bitcoin.
Centralized versus decentralized virtual currencies
FinCEN defined centralized virtual currencies in 2013 as virtual currencies that have a “centralized repository”, similar to a central bank, and a “central administrator”.
A decentralized currency was defined by the US Department of Treasury as a “currency (1) that has no central repository and no single administrator, and (2) that persons may obtain by their own computing or manufacturing effort”.
Ethereum
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the first decentralized digital currency. Trust in the currency is based on the “transaction ledger which is cryptographically verified, and jointly maintained by the currency’s users”. The Bitcoin Foundation claims that bitcoin was “designed to be fully decentralized with miners operating in all countries, and no individual having control over the network”, and that bitcoin is “as virtual as the credit cards and online banking networks people use everyday”.
According to a Forbes journalist, “bitcoin mining has become increasingly centralized”, and a group of European cryptologic researchers have questioned, if bitcoin is indeed a decentralized currency. To improve bitcoin’s decentralization, they suggest to encourage fully decentralized mining pools, allow only 1 vote per bitcoin client, and to increase transparency in decision making. Since not all virtual currencies use cryptography, not all virtual currencies are cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are generally not legal tender. is the first country attempting a government run digital currency -no cryptocurrency; during the introductory phase from Christmas Eve 2014 until mid February 2015 people can open accounts and change passwords. At the end of February 2015 transactions of electronic money will be possible.
| The money matrix adapted from an ECB work, Virtual Currency Schemes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile coupon | |||||
| Centralized virtual currencies | |||||
| Decentralized | Physical | Ripple, | Decentralized cryptocurrencies | ||
| Regulated | Banknotes and coins () | E-money | |||
| Commercial bank money (deposits) | |||||
Regulation
Virtual currencies pose challenges for central banks, financial regulators, departments or ministries of finance, as well as fiscal authorities and statistical authorities. Gareth Murphy, Central Bank of Ireland, described the regulatory challenges posed by virtual currencies as relating to:
- Monetary and
- Tax leakage
- and settlement infrastructure
- Impact of on financial service providers
US Treasury guidance
On 20 March 2013, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a guidance to clarify how the US applied to persons creating, exchanging and transmitting virtual currencies.
New York state regulation
In July 2014, the proposed the most comprehensive regulation of virtual currencies to date commonly referred to as a BitLicense. Unlike the US federal regulators it has gathered input from bitcoin supporters and the financial industry through public hearings and a comment period until October 21, 2014 to customize the rules. The proposal, per NY DFS press release “… sought to strike an appropriate balance that helps protect consumers and root out illegal activity”. It has been criticized by smaller companies to favor established institutions, and Chinese bitcoin exchanges have complained that the rules are “overly broad in its application outside the United States”.
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