Abstract:

As soon as the usage of cryptocurrency in the last few years has been gaining popularity all over the world, and this global trend has affected Ukraine, the purpose of the paper is to examine the essence of cryptocurrency, to identify the issues of its legal regulation in Ukraine, as well as using the analysis of world experience in this sphere, to identify ways of the improvement for relevant domestic legislation. The authors have indicated that the cryptocurrency market (or “virtual” money) operates successfully and provides an opportunity to analyse dynamics of the cost, supply, and demand of about 90-100 different cryptocurrency. Problem’s setting. The authors of the paper have emphasized that despite increasing popularity of cryptocurrency in Ukraine and throughout the world, there is no single clear definition of this concept. Therefore, the authors of this article state that cryptocurrency is a digital decentralized currency, a unit of which is a coin cryptographically protected against tampering since it is encrypted information that cannot be copied, while all information about transactions is stored in the blockchain system. Methodology. The study primarily uses comparative methods for the purposes of examination of the approaches taken under different jurisdictions towards cryptocurrency. Additionally, analysis of the body of theoretical literature on the matter was conducted. Results of the study allowed drawing several conclusions on the prospects of further development of the legal framework for cryptocurrencies in Ukraine since nowadays the country is neutral in the issue of using and regulating cryptocurrency and consequently it is losing precious time, because: first, potentially loses money, which could enter the state budget from individuals, who receive income from transactions on cryptocurrency markets; and secondly, the state runs a risk of citizens’ rights violation because of no real instruments for their protection. Practical implications of these are proposals to adopt certain amendments to the current legislation in this sphere, including setting up control over brokerage of cryptocurrency, licensing of the industry, and legal definition of the cryptocurrency for the purposes of taxation, etc. Value/originality. The paper represents one of the first comprehensive studies of the current state and prospects of development of the legal framework for the cryptocurrency in Ukraine. Its conclusions provide both proposals for the development of legislation in this sphere and may serve as a basis for the future studies of this topic.

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