Network Virtual Currency Unification: Demand, Impetus and Mode Feasibility

摘要

With the development of internet, network virtual currency becomes a new way of payment in virtual games and virtual communities, but the multi-currency coexistence and inconvertibility of the current virtual money initiated the dispute on whether the virtual currency should be unified. This paper holds that whether the unification could be implemented depends on users' demand, the willingness of operators and the mode of unification. By questionnaire and analysis on operators' behavior, this paper finds that users and operators have not shown significant preference for unification. In views of the feasibility of unification, this paper puts forward three possible unification modes: Monopoly Issue by Commercial Operator, Neutralized Main Issue and Operator's Rationed Issue, Neutralized Monopoly Issue. The first two modes do not have sufficient stability and sustainability, only the Neutralized Monopoly Issue mode which shall be carried out under the force of government can achieve virtual currency unification. This also indicates that the market force can neither break the present status of multi-currency coexistence to achieve unification, nor maintain it without external forces.