Cryptocurrencies legal regulation

Abstract

This article evaluates the legal framework of cryptocurrency in various countries. The new currency instrument is abstract currencies. They are currencies in the sense that they can be exchanged peer-to-peer. They are representations of numbers, i.e. abstract objects. An abstract currency system is a self-enforcing system of property rights over an abstract instrument which gives its owners the freedom to use and the right to exclude others from using the instrument. Cryptocurrency or virtual currency is a cryptographically protected, decentralized digital currency used as a means of exchange. Due to the development of new technologies and innovations, the rate of use of virtual currency is rapidly increasing throughout the globe, replacing not only cash payments and payments by bank transfer, but also electronic cash payments. Among the best-known representatives of cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. Legal scholars have not yet reached a consensus regarding the nature and legal status of virtual currency. Virtual currency possesses the nature of obligations rights as well as property rights, since it may be both a means of payment and a commodity. Depending on the country, the approach to cryptocurrencies may be different. Today there is already an international cryptocurrency community that does not have a single coordinating center. Only progressive jurisdiction and state regulation of cryptocurrency activity will allow the creation of the conditions that will ensure the implementation of legitimate and safe cryptocurrency relations.