Central bank digital currency in the context of "Cryptocurrency"

Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital currencies include cryptocurrency, virtual currency and central bank digital currency. Digital currency may be recorded on a distributed database on the internet, a centralized electronic computer database owned by a company or bank, within digital files or even on a stored-value card.

Digital currencies exhibit properties similar to traditional currencies, but generally do not have a classical physical form of fiat currency historically that can be held in the hand, like currencies with printed banknotes or minted coins. However, they do have a physical form in an unclassical sense coming from the computer to computer and computer to human interactions and the information and processing power of the servers that store and keep track of money. This unclassical physical form allows nearly instantaneous transactions over the internet and vastly lowers the cost associated with distributing notes and coins: for example, of the types of money in the UK economy, 3% are notes and coins, and 79% as electronic money (in the form of bank deposits). Usually not issued by a governmental body, virtual currencies are not considered a legal tender and they enable ownership transfer across governmental borders.

Virtual currency, or virtual money, is a digital currency that is typically unregulated, issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted electronically among the members of a specific virtual community as part of a virtual economy. In 2014, the European Banking Authority 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 fiat currency but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically." A digital currency issued by a central bank is referred to as a central bank digital currency.

eNaira is a central bank digital currency issued and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. It was the first of its type in Africa. Denominated in naira, the eNaira serves as both a medium of exchange and a store of value and claims to offer better payment prospects in retail transactions when compared to cash.

The eNaira was launched and activated on 25 October 2021 by President Muhammad Buhari, under the slogan: "Same Naira, More Possibilities".

Digital renminbi (Chinese: 数字人民币; also abbreviated as digital RMB and e-CNY), or Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP, Chinese: 数字货币电子支付; pinyin: Shùzì huòbì diànzǐ zhīfù), is a central bank digital currency issued by China's central bank, the People's Bank of China. It is the first digital currency to be issued by a major economy, undergoing public testing as of April 2021. The digital RMB is legal tender and has equivalent value to other forms of renminbi, also known as the Chinese yuan (CNY), such as bills and coins.

The digital yuan is designed to move instantaneously in both domestic and international transactions. It aims to be cheaper and faster than existing financial transactions. The technology enables transactions to take place between two offline devices.