Abstract: In the era of the digital economy, the application of digital technology has driven the transformation of the form of capital and reshaped the process of capital circulation and value proliferation. In terms of the form of capital, the digitalization of currency has increased the amount of funds that can be converted into monetary capital within the economic system, expanding the scope of financing activities for industrial capital. The capitalization of data and the digitization of production capital have further strengthened the control of capital over data as a means of production. Through digital forms and digital marketing channels, commodity capital has accelerated the process of transformation from commodity into money, further enhancing the speed and efficiency of capital circulation. From the perspective of capital circulation and value proliferation, the digitalization of capital forms has made the capital circulation in different industrial sectors exhibit heterogeneity and complexity characteristics, while its value proliferation process is more diverse and secretive. The capital circulation in digital goods and services is reflected in the increase in capital circulation and proliferation speed caused by the use of digital production means. The capital cycle in the integration of data factors and traditional production factors is represented by the gradual separation of the direct material production process and living labor with the participation of materialized data factors, and its capital proliferation tends to be completed in the production process of data factors. In the gig economy dominated by digital platforms, capital circulation is manifested through monopolizing data factors and sales channels to control the realization of value growth, thereby strengthening the exploitation of individual laborers and small producers.

Key words: digital capital, digital capitalism, capital circulation, digital economy