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
Brenda PoppyExamples of cryptocurrency in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
UnitedHealth ended up paying a ransom of $22 million in cryptocurrency, its CEO told a Congressional committee earlier this month.
—Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 9 May 2024
Although customers will be reimbursed the cash value of their cryptocurrency assets at the time of FTX’s collapse plus some interest, that’s far short of how much money those assets would be worth today given crypto’s resurgence.
—Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
Customers of the cryptocurrency exchange—which imploded back in November 2022 and led to the imprisonment of Sam Bankman-Fried—will get their money back, plus interest, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 8 May 2024
The cryptocurrency is back up to $64,000, after taking a tumultuous rise and tumble in recent weeks.
—Gabriela Riccardi, Quartz, 7 May 2024
In 2015, Lubin was part of the team that created Ethereum, the computer network home to the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, known as ETH.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 6 May 2024
Robinhood’s cryptocurrency division could soon be in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 6 May 2024
Their cryptocurrency mining hobby morphs into an Ethereum mining company using Nvidia GPUs (graphics processing units) to verify blockchain transactions.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 1 May 2024
Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison, a much lighter penalty than other crypto executives have faced since the industry imploded in 2022.
—David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2024
Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 9 May 2024
Although customers will be reimbursed the cash value of their cryptocurrency assets at the time of FTX’s collapse plus some interest, that’s far short of how much money those assets would be worth today given crypto’s resurgence.
—Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
Customers of the cryptocurrency exchange—which imploded back in November 2022 and led to the imprisonment of Sam Bankman-Fried—will get their money back, plus interest, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 8 May 2024
The cryptocurrency is back up to $64,000, after taking a tumultuous rise and tumble in recent weeks.
—Gabriela Riccardi, Quartz, 7 May 2024
In 2015, Lubin was part of the team that created Ethereum, the computer network home to the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, known as ETH.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 6 May 2024
Robinhood’s cryptocurrency division could soon be in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 6 May 2024
Their cryptocurrency mining hobby morphs into an Ethereum mining company using Nvidia GPUs (graphics processing units) to verify blockchain transactions.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 1 May 2024
Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison, a much lighter penalty than other crypto executives have faced since the industry imploded in 2022.
—David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cryptocurrency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cryptocurrency.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptocurrency. Accessed 16 May. 2024.
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