1, the main background of the emergence of online currency is the difficulty of small electronic payment in China. Online game operators use this low-cost vouchers to collect fees. Originally, only RMB was allowed to be exchanged for online currency, but RMB was not allowed to be exchanged for online currency. However, with the development of online game industry, people spontaneously exchange all kinds of online currencies, and even can use online currencies to buy physical products or services that can only be bought in RMB, forming a purchasing power similar to that of currency, and the boundary between virtual currency and real currency is gradually blurred.
In fact, in countries with developed financial environment, virtual currency has long appeared, and its purpose is to make profits. For example, the virtual currency "Net Bean" first introduced by Beenz. Beenz has reached an agreement with MasterCard, so that consumers can not only store the net beans accumulated online in smart cards, but also use them in traditional stores. This business model is to sell virtual net beans to some websites at the price of 1 cent, and the websites will send them to netizens in various ways or let them win prizes. These virtual currencies can be consumed as cash in online stores. Finally, Beenz will buy back from the website operator at a price of 0.5 cents each to make a profit. In 2000, there were about 750 million Beenz net beans in circulation, equivalent to 670 million yuan. At that time, China's online currency appeared, and ChinaBonus provided virtual currency to consumers in the form of points. After the points are accumulated to a certain amount, they can be used to exchange phone cards, Internet cards, T-shirts and other prizes.
3. Virtual objects in online games, such as virtual gold coins, virtual equipment, virtual animals and plants, virtual characters, etc., are very attractive to players and promote the consumption of these virtual objects. However, due to the backwardness of domestic electronic payment methods and security concerns, players often use prepaid cash to buy virtual currency issued by operators, and then use these vouchers to buy virtual items in the game online. As long as the game content is attractive enough, players will buy virtual currency issued by game operators through various channels. The development of online games has led to a sharp increase in the types and circulation of virtual currency.