The active development of cryptocurrencies around the world began about 10 years ago, but despite the rather long period of time, the world has not yet developed a unified approach to understanding the essence of cryptocurrencies and the general rules for their legal regulation. This article examines the essence of cryptocurrencies from the standpoint of a general theoretical approach, and also analyzes the positions of international organizations regarding the definition of the essence of cryptocurrencies. The creation of a common approach to determining the essence of cryptocurrencies at the global level will make it possible to choose a single most optimal approach to the issue of their further legal regulation by countries at the national level. The analysis allowed to conclude that the concept of cryptocurrencies can be considered in several different aspects, each of which has its own specifics, but at the same time reflects the essential features of cryptocurrencies. Many international organizations classify cryptocurrencies as virtual/digital currencies, noting, at the same time, the significant risks of their use and the need to create a coordinated and systematic regulation of the sphere of cryptocurrency turnover to reduce the ways and possibilities of their illegal use.
Purpose- Sanctions, as an alternative to the use of military force, are used as a means of diplomatic coercion for the target country to abandon some of its decisions or avoid some possible practices. While half a century ago, sanctions included issues such as trade and travel restrictions and arms embargo, today the form and content of sanctions have changed significantly. In the last decade, most of the sanctions imposed on some states, especially to Iran and the Russian Federation, are financial sanctions. These financial sanctions, it is aimed to cut the target country's ties with the global financial markets, to disrupt the cash/capital inflow and outflow to the target country, to prevent trade by removing them from global payment systems such as SWIFT and to restrict some activities of central banks. However, the issue of whether cryptocurrencies, which we have heard frequently since 2009, can be used as a means of mitigating or overcoming the financial sanctions is frequently on the agenda. In this context, we analyze whether cryptocurrencies can be used to mitigate or overcome the financial sanctions imposed on the target country. Methodology- The size of the financial sanctions applied by the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and EU countries against the Russian Federation, after the war started in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and the foreign money inflow/outflow volume needed by the Russian Federation as a result of its removal from the SWIFT system are compared with the volume of cryptocurrencies owned by the Russian Federation. Findings- The blockchain database system, which underpins cryptocurrencies, still struggles with a number of challenges. Especially the ability to increase the capacity (scalability) of the blockchain network is one of these problems. The scalability problem hinders the effective use of cryptocurrencies by the Russian Federation. In addition, when the financial transaction capacity and the size of the sanctions applied to the Russian Federation are compared with the crypto market size of the Russian Federation, it is seen that there is a significant difference in sizes. Conclusion- In today's conditions, cryptocurrencies stay away from the capacity to mitigate or overcome the financial sanctions applied to countries with large trading capacities such as the Russian Federation and to be used as a means of payment. However, in the coming years, in the case of developments in cryptocurrency technologies, cryptocurrencies have the capacity to be used to circumvent financial sanctions. Keywords: Sanctions, financial sanctions, payment instrument, crypto assets, blockchain. JEL Codes: F51, G20, B17
비트코인을 비롯한 1,000개 이상의 암호화폐들이 존재하는 세상이 도래하였다. 이에 투자⋅ 소유하는 사람들이 급증하였고, 암호화폐를 이용한 범죄 또한 증가하고 있다. 2018년 비트코인 몰수에 대한 대법원의 판례가 나온 이후 형법적 취급에 대한 문제들이 제기되고 있다. 우선 여기서 말하는 비트코인은 암호화폐라고 불리고는 있지만 통상적으로 사용하는 ‘화폐’의 특성을 일부 가지고 있을 뿐 완벽한 의미의 화폐인 ‘법정통화’와는 다르다. 전자적 형태의 정보인 상태로 존재하고 있기에 물질의 세상에 존재한다고 볼 수도 없다. 그러하기에 형법상 ‘물건’에 해당하지 않고 재물에 해당하지도 않지만, 재산상 이익은 존재한 다. 이에 따라 재산상 이익은 존재하는 재물이 아닌 비트코인을 형법상 어떻게 취급해야 하는가 에 대해 논의한다. 컴퓨터 게임이 등장한 이후에 등장한 게임머니와 그 성질이 비슷한 존재의 것인지 아니면 새로운 존재로 보아야 하는지 비교하였다. 재물은 아니지만, 재산상 이익이 존재하는 비트코인에 대하여 형법상 재산범죄의 성립 여부 또한 새로운 문제 중 하나이다. 이전에 전자적으로 송금된 홍콩 달러에 대한 대법원의 판례와 비트코인의 착오 이체에 대한 판례를 비교하여 그 차이를 분석함으로써 대법원이 비트코인, 즉 암호화폐를 바라보는 입장에 대해 정리하였다. 배임죄와 횡령죄에 있어서 재물과 재산상 이익의 차이는 중요한 차이가 되고, 그 차이로 인해 법률상 포섭의 여부가 달라지는 결과로 귀결되었다. 이에 해당 연구를 통해 대법원판례 정리를 통하여 현행 대법원이 바라보는 암호화폐에 대해 정리하고 현재의 형법 체계하에서 해당 화폐에 대해 포섭되는지를 판단하였다. 현행 형법하에서 는 ‘몰수’의 대상이 ‘물건’에 한정되어 있어 비트코인은 ‘물건’에 해당하지 않는 문제점과 ‘재산상 이익’으로 인해서 배임⋅횡령죄의 포섭 불가능성에 대해서 논하였다. 그 결과 일부 포섭이 불가 능한 부분에 대해서 현행 형법 체계를 크게 헤치지 않는 범위 안에서 개정함으로써 암호화폐를 포섭하는 방안을 몰수와 배임⋅횡령으로 나누어서 제시하였다. 해당 연구를 통하여 법률이 개 정되어 법률이 미비한 부분을 보충하여 범죄 이익을 피의자가 수익하지 못하게 함과 동시에 피해자의 재산이 법체계 안에서 보호될 수 있기를 바란다.
In 2017, a study on the market of cryptocurrencies was done by a group of researchers (including the director of this thesis), getting the results based on the data obtained from the moment that the Bitcoin was introduced into the market, and was the only crypto-currency that existed, until the moment that the study began. Now, five years after, this market has suffered a bunch of different changes and faced ups and downs. This thesis has been done with the objective of confirming that the outcomes obtained from the previous study are still useful to analyze the new market or if we have to approach the new data in a different way, in case the market does not follow the patterns concluded in 2017.
Abstract This article is interested in the risk exposure to trustees from cryptocurrency investment. Recent case law has established that cryptoassets are to be deemed as legal property, and, in consequence, can form the subject matter of a trust. This is interesting because it creates a real risk for trustees, who may purchase cryptocurrency as an investment opportunity pursuant to their statutory investment duty. The article suggests that there are three main risks for trustees: (i) regulatory risk; (ii) market risk; and (iii) reputational risk. In truth, a trustee that invests in cryptocurrency runs the risk of direct, personal liability.
Criminalistics and forensics need rapid development to keep up with the changes in the society that are caused by dramatic changes in information and telecommunication technologies. The paper addresses the issue of including a new subject related to the turnover of cryptocurrencies in criminalistic analysis. Investigative and court practice show that when crimes are committed cryptocurrency can be an object of the offense (e.g., in theft) or can be used by offenders in the mechanism of a crime (e.g., legitimization of proceeds of crime by cashing in). To successfully investigate such crimes, it is necessary to study the mechanism of formation in the cryptocurrency transactions used by criminals in order to provide scientific recommendations to law enforcers concerning detection, fixation, seizure and investigation of traces of a crime. The development of effective tools in criminalistics forms a priority task at the present stage. The authors associate the specifics of the investigation of crimes related to the cryptocurrency turnover with its electronic nature, which determines the criminalistic recommendations proposed in the paper. Urgent training courses for investigators seem to be a reasonable solution to the problem. They can train investigators specializing in the investigation of such crimes, and their training (retraining) should involve the best experts in the field of IT technologies and experts from foreign jurisdictions where law-upholders have already accumulated experience in countering such crimes.
The subject of the study is regulatory legal acts regulating the use of cryptocurrencies. The object of the study is a set of legal and regulatory rules that determine the mode of using cryptocurrencies in Russia and foreign countries. The purpose of the work is based on a comprehensive analysis of the scientific works of leading scientists and practitioners, Russian and foreign judicial practice, legal experience of other states to consider the theoretical and legal foundations of the nature of cryptocurrency and mining, to analyze their legal status in modern Russian civil and information law, to put forward proposals to solve existing problems in the field of regulation of cryptocurrency and mining, and making international transactions using crypto assets. As a result of the study, conclusions were drawn that the definition of digital currency given in the Federal Law "On Digital Financial Assets, Digital Currency and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" requires adjustments, and the definition of a separate concept of cryptocurrency due to the fact that from the position of Article 128 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, it must be recognized as other property, and its consolidation in the system of civil rights is carried out by other legislative and other regulatory legal acts. In this approach to the interpretation of the concept of cryptocurrency, the agreement on the transfer of cryptocurrency in exchange for receiving other property has the legal nature of a barter agreement.
The article concerns the practice of money laundering with the use of virtual currencies. This phenomenon is gaining in importance because it is a relatively easy way to legalise unlawfully obtained assets. The relative anonymity of users and the constant technological development favour criminal activity and the development of new strategies. The article introduces the concepts of money laundering and cryptocurrencies, and analyzes the procedure indicated.
This thesis studies herding behavior in the cryptocurrency market between 2017 and 2022. Results from the static model reveal significant imitative behavior in the up market and during the bull year 2017. In addition, this thesis ranks among the first papers that study the effect of the early stage of the war in Ukraine on the market-wide herding behavior. Furthermore, due to Bitcoin's dominant position among other coins, closer attention is devoted to studying its influence on the herding behavior in the market. However, herding seems to be present only during extreme Bitcoin movements. In response to these results, five dominant coins (Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin and Dogecoin) are excluded from the sample and their influence on the rest of the market is studied. The evidence suggests strong herding behavior of the rest of the market around these five giants. Therefore, the return of smaller coins seems to be influenced by the performance of larger coins, rather by solely that of Bitcoin. JEL Classification G02, G15, G40, C22, C58 Keywords Cryptocurrencies, Herding behavior, Bitcoin, COVID-19 Title Analysis of herd behavior across cryptocurren- cies Author's e-mail 43789078@fsv.cuni.cz Supervisor's e-mail jiri.kukacka@fsv.cuni.cz
This thesis examines the responses of diverse states and political systems to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. It also aims to understand the underlying factors. The thesis is positioned within the realms of political economy and comparative politics and seeks to understand how different political systems, including democratic and authoritarian regimes, respond to technology in general and blockchain specifically. Through a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analyses, this study provides insights into states' orientations and the reasons behind them. Contrary to the hypothesis that cryptocurrencies and blockchains are threats to states, the research refutes this notion with 99% confidence intervals based on a comprehensive study of 87 countries. It reveals a moderate positive correlation between a state's level of democracy and its adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. However, caution is warranted as authoritarian countries have found ways to utilize this technology for control. Additionally, bureaucratic challenges and political instability place democratic states at a disadvantage in the broader technological race. Economic power positively influences a state's ability to introduce its Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), while economically struggling countries make progress in issuing CBDCs to address their challenges. The use of cryptocurrencies in the Russia-Ukraine conflict indicates the need for further study on their potential role in conflicts. The lack of international efforts to legalize cryptocurrencies reduces states' regulatory influence. This thesis culminates by generating hypotheses for future research and holds implications for investors, states, and international entities.
The digital development in the Russian Federation is to a large extent reflected in the specific relationship that emerges in the procurement procedure for State and municipal institutions as a result of the contractual system in the area of procurement. The term «procurement» refers to the acquisition of goods, construction or services; it is the process of determining the need of a solvent audience, identifying the supplier (its search and choice), as well as concluding and executing the terms of the contract, whether delivery of the goods, Performance of the work or services required by the terms of the contract. The article provides a brief overview of the process of digitization of the contract system in the procurement section and details the features of the digitization of the public contract, identifies the specific nature of the contract in the context of digitization and identifies its shortcomings, opportunities for the use of smart contract technologies in the conclusion and execution of government contract were considered. Keywords: digital, contract, government contract, smart contract, blockchain, Smart contract, contract system, automation, EIS (also a single information system), electronic information platform, electronic document management system, electronic signature, EPC, electronic document, portal, procurement of goods and services, procurement.
In late February 2022, the escalation of the Eastern European conflict triggered a global stock sell-off. Over the course of the day, the MOEX plummeted by 33%, WIG20 recorded an 11% drop and the VIX fear index surged. Instinctively, investors began to relocate the capital to traditional safe assets. This article aimed to verify whether cryptocurrencies can be treated by investors as a financial safe haven. The article presents the post-war-outbreak behavior of major cryptocurrencies in comparison with selected stock market indices and traditional safe havens. Three hypotheses were tested: whether cryptocurrencies can be a safe haven during crises, whether certain types of cryptocurrencies are outperforming others at protecting capital, and how the time horizon affects their properties. Despite the uncertainty in the scientific world, the article proves that cryptocurrencies do not meet the criteria for safe havens. The analysis and modeling were based on the DCC-GARCH approach.
The article discusses the features of the tax and legal regulation of cryptocurrencies in the Republic of India and the Russian Federation. A study of legal regulation and a study of the positions of legal scholars of the Republic of India, in terms of regulating the turnover of cryptocurrencies, as well as the experience of regulatory regulation of the turnover of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation. As a result of the study, the author identified a gap in the legal regulation of taxation of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation, in comparison with the legal regulation of the Republic of India. Public relations arising in connection with the turnover of cryptocurrencies are not regulated in any country of the world at the moment, including in terms of taxation of transactions using cryptocurrencies. In this connection, it is necessary to take into account the foreign experience of legal regulation of taxation of cryptocurrency turnover, including the Republic of India. The problem lies in the fact that amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation have not been adopted at the moment, which would regulate the taxation of cryptocurrency turnover in the Russian Federation. To investigate the experience of legal regulation of taxation of cryptocurrencies of the Republic of India and to identify aspects that could be applied to form the legal regulation of taxation of turnover of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation. Previously, comparative legal research in this area has not been conducted.
The scant legislative definition of the phenomenon of virtual currencies, the lack of established business circulation and, consequently, the scattered judicial practice, all point to the complexity of understanding the legal status of electronic digital media - digital currency. Since distributed ledger technology is still in its infancy, digital currency users, miners, cryptocurrency exchange owners, tax regulators and policymakers face a number of unresolved issues at the national and international level. It is unlikely that any major economy today would support a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, which cannot be controlled by a central bank and was created by a secretive cryptographer. Nevertheless, we believe that central banks around the world will launch their own digital currencies, combining the advantages of cryptocurrencies and traditional money. For the future: despite the legislative basis for the fixation of digital currency in Russia, we believe that the further free use and use in civil circulation of cryptocurrency is questionable. Introduction in the near future by the Central Bank of Russia of such a category of object or a type of non-cash money as "digital ruble" practically excludes the free circulation of digital currency. Presumably, that (central bank digital currency, CBDC) or digital ruble will work on the principle of optional means of payment, combining the properties of cash and non-cash funds and subject to issuance by the Bank of Russia in a digital format. The issues related to the legal status of digital rubles today are open and are in the plane of not only civil law, but also constitutional law. The analysis of crypto-exchanges around the world presented in this article reveals one trend - these activities are subject to licensing. For the full development of global financial activities, including the cryptoindustry, the development of competent business legislation on the organizers of trade turnover - crypto-exchanges - with the establishment of general principles of their activities, with the definition of the criteria of these subjects, as well as the content of their actual activities is necessary. To regulate such an institution, a specialized type of licensing is needed, by analogy with fiat money activities, based on the progressive experience of such states as Malta, Estonia, the USA, Canada, Latin America, Switzerland, Japan, etc... Such licensing could be tiered, depending on the volume of cryptocurrency transactions. The creation of strict standardization for any trade, exchange transactions with digital currency would allow Russia to be a full participant in global business. Finally, improving the legal literacy of Russians when participating in exchange activities will raise the status of investment, allow the population to avoid financial risky operations, which will ultimately contribute to the stabilization of the economic situation in the country. The author declares no conflicts of interests.
В статье анализируются конституционные нормы, выступающие основой текущей нормативно-правовой регламентации оборота криптовалюты в Российской Федерации, которая на современном этапе характеризуется довольно активным расширением массива источников права, регламентирующих общественные отношения, возникающие в данной сфере. Автором проанализированы действующие нормативно-правовые акты, находящиеся в настоящее время на рассмотрении в Государственной Думе РФ, проект Федерального закона «О цифровой валюте», а также судебные решения, которые в условиях отсутствия детального нормативно-правового регулирования выступают в качестве своеобразного судебного прецедента при исследовании специфики оборота криптовалюты в России.
Nowadays, actively developing digital technologies have a significant impact on all spheres of society. The digitalization of the economy and, in particular, finance is particularly dynamic. Blockchain, distributed ledgers technologies, Big Data and others became the basis for the emergence of cryptocurrencies, tokens, and then other forms of digital financial assets (digital assets). Since the beginning of the use of digital technologies in the financial sector, a separate market has been formed – digital financial assets, opening up to the world community not only new opportunities, but also challenges related to its regulation, control, taxation, and finally, the rules of interaction of participants and the protection of their interests. The article presents the main approaches to the definition of digital financial assets, their classification is considered, a historical overview of the emergence, formation and development of the digital assets market is made, the key directions of their legal regulation and taxation are outlined, the experience of interaction of foreign countries with different types of digital assets is described, with an emphasis on the USA, EU, China and the Middle East countries.
The paper tackles the conflicts of laws on property rights over cryptocurrencies, starting from characterization issues. Building upon the distinctive nature of cryptocurrencies as “pure” de facto assets, that do not give a claim against an issuer, and the relevance of control over said assets as a suitable alternative to the traditional possession, the paper supports the characterization in terms of “assets”, over which property rights may, subject to the relevant lex causae, be constituted and enjoyed. By examining the available options for a conflict-of-law regime and considering the first legislative efforts conducted in this area of law both at the supranational and national level, the elective situs approach is identified as the most appropriate, possibly backed by some regulatory requirement, whilst different approaches are envisaged for the fall-back rule applicable to cryptocurrencies originated in, respectively, permissioned and permissionless DLT systems.