Global Approaches to the Nature of Cryptocurrencies and its Relationship with the Determination of the Regulatory Authority

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei 1
Narges Movahedi 2
1 Professor of Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Graduated M.A in Public Law from Tehran University
Abstract
The advancement of technology and the emergence of new types of it in the current era have forced governments to adopt different approaches. These approaches are chosen based on the regulatory and legislative system of each country on the one hand and on the other hand the economic and political conditions and requirements of each period and each technology. The approach of countries may change over time. Cryptocurrencies are one of the things whose regulation has become an issue for governments in the last decade. In their way of dealing with this issue, governments range from complete prohibition to complete freedom. Most of the challenges that governments face in facing such issues are common or similar. The first challenge that governments have faced in the field of cryptocurrencies and which causes them to choose a specific approach towards cryptocurrencies is how to identify their nature. In addition to considering the internal and governmental structure of the country, the countries also involve their analysis of the nature of cryptocurrencies in determining the regulatory authority for cryptocurrencies. This research has investigated the relationship between these two issues by examining the approach of countries to the two issues of the nature of cryptocurrencies and determining the regulatory body of cryptocurrencies. The result of this research shows that the majority of countries consider cryptocurrencies as a type of asset and consider them close and similar to securities and other financial instruments. In the selection of the regulatory body, most governments have not recognized the need to establish a new authority for the regulation of cryptocurrencies, and they have chosen their own authority for regulating securities and other financial instruments among the existing bodies.
Keywords
Digital currency
Blockchain
Crypto asset
Regulatory
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