cryptocurrency

noun

cryp·​to·​cur·​ren·​cy ˌkrip-tō-ˈkər-ən(t)-sē 

-ˈkə-rən(t)-sē

plural cryptocurrencies

: any form of currency that only exists digitally, that usually has no central issuing or regulating authority but instead uses a decentralized system to record transactions and manage the issuance of new units, and that relies on cryptography to prevent counterfeiting and fraudulent transactions

Virtual currency bitcoin hit the mainstream in 2014. Bitcoin ATMs started springing up all over the world … , allowing people to exchange cash for the cryptocurrency, a secure digital payment outside of conventional financial institutions.

—Brenda Poppy

Examples of cryptocurrency in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Thousands of Americans, many of them retirees on limited budgets, lost more than a quarter of a billion dollars this year to scams that fooled them into using crypto ATMs – machines that turn cash into hard-to-recover cryptocurrency. —Curt Devine, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025

The city, alongside Singapore, was one of the first jurisdictions in Asia to set up a licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges. —Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 17 Dec. 2025

The listing comes amid recent volatility in global cryptocurrency markets after touching record highs. —Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 17 Dec. 2025

Chartering crypto firms Last week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved bank charters for five cryptocurrency firms. —Max Rego, The Hill, 16 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

crypto- + currency

First Known Use

2009, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cryptocurrency

• eurocurrency
• concurrency
• currency

Kids Definition

cryptocurrency

noun

cryp·​to·​cur·​ren·​cy ˌkrip-tō-ˈkər-ən(t)-sē 

-ˈkə-rən(t)-sē

: any form of currency that only exists digitally, that usually uses a decentralized system for issuing new units and reording transactions, and that relies on cryptography to prevent fraudulent transactions