Abstract: The present study deals with the issue of the legal nature of money, addressing the historical evolution and characteristics of money, the development of monetary forms, as well as theories in economy and philosophy regarding the assessment of a value as money. By reviewing the main Romanian provisions that contain the term „money”, we will outline both arguments and counterarguments as to the inclusion of money in the category of goods and we will advance an idea regarding a possible appearance of an autonomous legal category of money, in the context of their dematerialization and of the emergence of alternatives to fiduciary money, respectively virtual coins. These virtual coins, in their many shapes, from Bitcoin to Ethereum to the future Libra coin, are created and circulate via the Internet, and this in itself raises a new series of legal challenges.

Keywords: money; legal nature of money; currency; electronic money; virtual currency; cryptocurrency.