A cryptocurrency is a virtual means of payment.
In its Opinion on Virtual Currencies, which include cryptocurrencies, the European Banking Authority (EBA) defines it as a digital representation of value that is not created by a central bank or public authority and that does not require a link to any legal tender.
Cryptocurrencies are used by individuals as well as legal entities as a means of exchange and can be transferred, stored or traded in electronic form. Cryptocurrencies have in common that they are all based on the so-called “distributed ledger technology” (DLT). In the case of Bitcoin, which is currently the most well-known cryptocurrency, the DLT is the so-called block chain.