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{{Distinguish|virtual money|bank deposits}} 

'''Digital currency''', among its various names,<ref group="note">Other names include: Cryptocurrency, Virtual currency, Payment Scheme, Virtual Medium of Exchange, etc.</ref> is [[electronic money]] that acts as [[alternative currency]]. Currently, alternative digital currencies are not produced by [[government]]-endorsed [[central banks]] nor necessarily backed by [[national currency]].<ref name=BBC1>{{cite web|last=Melik|first=James|title=Digital currency: Brave new world or criminal haven?|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19785935|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=28 February 2013}}</ref> 

It is differed from virtual money used in [[virtual economies]] due to its use in transactions with real goods and services; not being limited to circulation within [[online games]].<ref name=Gawker1>{{cite web|last=Chen|first=Adrian|title=The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable|url=http://gawker.com/5805928/|publisher=Gawker|accessdate=28 February 2013|quote=He entered his address and paid the seller 50 Bitcoins—untraceable digital currency—worth around $150. Four days later the drugs, sent from Canada, arrived at his house.}}</ref>  Earlier digital currencies are often backed by a promise to pay a set amount of gold or silver [[bullion]] in exchange for each of its units. Others [[Floating_exchange_rate|float]] against whatever individuals are willing to exchange for it.

==FinCen guidance==
On 20 March 2013, the [[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network]] (FinCen), a bureau of the [[United States Department of the Treasury]], issued a document providing  interpretive guidance to clarify the applicability of the [[Bank Secrecy Act]] (BSA) to persons creating, exchanging and transmitting digital or "virtual currencies".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/html/FIN-2013-G001.html|title=FIN-2013-G001 : Application of FinCEN's Regulations to Persons Administering, Exchanging, or Using Virtual Currencies|date=March 18, 2013|publisher=[[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network]]}}</ref>

==List of digital currencies==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Currency !! Year Est. !! Active !! Ledger !! Website !! [[Monetary base]]/[[USD]] (April 2013) !! [[Bitcoin]]-based
|-
| [[e-gold]] || 1996 || {{No}} ||  Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. || [https://www.e-gold.com e-gold.com] || {{n/a}} || No
|-
| [[Digital Monetary Trust]] || 1999<ref name="Employment Opportunities in The Digital Monetary Trust">{{cite web|title=Employment Opportunites in The Digital Monetary Trust|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20000301143906/http://zolatimes.com/V3.44/dmt_employment.htm}}</ref> || {{No}} ||  {{n/a}} || [http://web.archive.org/web/20031008175805/orlingrabbe.com/dmt_guide.htm DMT Guide] || {{n/a}} || No
|-
| [[e-dinar]] || 2000 || {{n/a}}||  e-dinar Ltd. || [https://www.e-dinar.com e-dinar.com] || {{n/a}} || No
|-
| [[Pecunix]] || 2001 || {{n/a}} ||  Pecunix Inc. || [http://www.pecunix.com pecunix.com] || {{n/a}} || No
|-
| [[Ven (currency)|Ven]] || 2007 || {{yes}} || [[Hub Culture]] || [http://venmoney.net venmoney.net] || $2 million (est.){{Fact|date=March 2013}} || No
|-
| [[Bitcoin]] || 2009 || {{yes}}<ref name="Bitcoin Exchange Rate">{{cite web|title=Bitcoin Exchange Rate in USD|url=https://btc-e.com/exchange/btc_usd|accessdate=21 March 2013}}</ref> || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://bitcoin.org bitcoin.org] ||~$1 billion (11 April 2013)<ref>{{cite web|title=Market Capitalization|url=http://blockchain.info/charts/market-cap|publisher=Blockchain.info|accessdate=21 March 2013}}</ref> || {{n/a}}
|-
| [[Ripple monetary system|Ripple]] || 2010 || {{yes}} || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://ripple.com ripple.com] || {{n/a}} || No
|-
| [[IXcoin]] || 2011 || {{yes}} || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://ixcoin.org/ ixcoin.org] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|-
| [[Litecoin]] || 2011 || {{yes}}<ref name="Litecoin Exchange Rate">{{cite web|title=Litecoin Exchange Rate in USD|url=https://btc-e.com/exchange/ltc_usd|accessdate=1 March 2013}}</ref>  || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://litecoin.org litecoin.org] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|-
| [[MicroCash]] || 2011 || {{n/a}} || Semi-[[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://microcash.org/ microcash.org] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|-

| [[BBQCoin]] || 2012 || {{n/a}} || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://bbqcoin.org bbqcoin.org] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|-
| [[PPCoin]] || 2012 || {{yes}} || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://ppcoin.org ppcoin.org] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|-
| [[Terracoin]] || 2012 || {{n/a}} || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://terracoin.org terracoin.org] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|-
| [[Freicoin]] || 2012 || {{yes}} || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://freico.in/ freicoin.in] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|-
| [[NovaCoin]] || 2013 || {{yes}}<ref name="NovaCoin Exchange Rate">{{cite web|title=NovaCoin Exchange Rate in BTC|url=https://btc-e.com/exchange/nvc_btc|publisher=BTC-E|accessdate=1 March 2013}}</ref>  || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=143221.0 Forum thread] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|-
| [[RuCoin]] || {{n/a}} || {{No}}<ref name="RuCoin Closing">{{cite web|title=News / Closing the trading of currency pairs, RUC/BTC|url=https://btc-e.com/news/110|publisher=BTC-E|accessdate=1 March 2013}}</ref>  || [[Peer-to-peer|P2P network]] || [http://rucoin.org rucoin.org] || {{n/a}} || Yes
|}

==See also==
* [[Digital currency exchanger]]
* [[Digital gold currency]]
* [[Private currency]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==

{{reflist}}

== External links==
* [http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/virtualcurrencyschemes201210en.pdf ''Virtual Currency Schemes''], European Central Bank, Oct. 2012.
* [https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/List_of_alternative_cryptocurrencies ''List of alternative cryptocurrencies''] Bitcoin Wiki (accessed 6 Apr 2013)

[[Category:Electronic currencies]]
[[Category:Alternative currencies]]
[[Category:Payment systems]]
[[Category:E-commerce]]