REVIEW OF APPROACHES TO DEFINING THE ECONOMIC ESSENCE OF THE CONCEPT "DIGITAL ECONOMY"

The article explores key approaches to defining the digital economy, its characteristics, challenges, and development prospects in global and national contexts. The digital economy is seen as a multidimensional system integrating technological, economic, social, and managerial aspects, based on digital platforms, artificial intelligence, big data, and financial technologies. The study highlights key challenges, including cybersecurity risks, the digital divide, market monopolization, labor market transformation, and regulatory adaptation. The prospects include global market integration, FinTech expansion, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and sustainable digitalization. A comprehensive regulatory approach is proposed, focusing on digital security, innovation support, infrastructure modernization, and human capital development to ensure sustainable economic growth.