Concept, legal nature and classification of virtual assets

Abstract

The entry of digital assets into the economic space at the national and supranational levels is an innovation in the financial system. The rapid penetration of virtual assets into the economic sphere is perceived ambiguously, because their uniqueness, which is expressed in anonymity, independence from central banks, combined with the use of information technology, has won both many supporters and attracted the attention of critics, including at the state level of the world’s leading countries.
 The article analyzes the experience of legislative consolidation of the definition of the concept of «virtual asset» at the national and international levels. Approaches to understanding this term by individual scholars are considered. The author distinguishes the correlation between the concepts of «virtual assets» and «digital assets», «cryptoassets» and «cryptocurrencies», «virtual assets» and «cryptoassets», and in particular, determines that the concepts of «virtual assets» and «digital assets» are synonymous, the term «cryptoassets» is broader than the term «cryptocurrencies» and includes the latter; at the same time, the concept of «virtual assets» is broader than the concept of «cryptoassets», since a virtual asset can use not only blockchain technology to have an electronic form.
 The definition of the concept of «virtual assets» was formed, which is considered as any asset expressed by a collection of data in electronic form, created using cryptographic means, having a cost, economic value and direct interaction of two parties without the participation of intermediaries in a decentralized network.
 The evolution of attempts to determine the legal form and legal nature of virtual assets at the regulatory and legal level in Ukraine has been analyzed and their classifications have been identified. Some aspects of the Law of Ukraine «On Virtual Assets» were studied, with the adoption of which the final transformation of cryptoassets and cryptocurrencies into a new legal form took place - a virtual asset.
 The conclusion was formulated that the Law of Ukraine «On Virtual Assets» needs to be revised in terms of the concept and classification of virtual assets.