Summary

The exchange value of money is always largely based on the trust of the owners of the money – such is the unanimous position of economists, although there is no consentient definition of money. The stability of a currency is always tied to reliability criteria. The rapid development of financial technology has sparked a number of debates on the new possibilities of performing monetary obligations.

Virtual currency and its accompanying schemes is a new medium, widely lacking legal regulation and uniform positions among economists and jurists. However, complex legal disputes have arisen in relation to virtual currency, and the Court of Justice has to provide a legal assessment on the nature of bitcoins in deciding on taxation matters. It is clear that bitcoins and other similar virtual currency present an important challenge both to legislators and the central banks, financial supervisory agencies, and other institutions exercising the powers of a public authority.

The article addresses arguments on the reliability and non-reliability of virtual currency. It views the state theory on currency and its impacts on the development of the legal regulation on electronic money, also presenting a short overview of the development of virtual currency schemes. It also analyses the differences between electronic money and virtual currency, and addresses some of the court actions regarding bitcoins.