The Legal Regime of Crypto Assets Through the Prism of Investment

The purpose of the article is to study cryptocurrencies (a digital financial asset, digital currency) in business legal relationships, including consideration of the features of the essence of crypto currencies, as well as investing in this object. We make a reservation that the analysis of national crypto assets goes beyond the scope of this purpose. The need to determine the legal nature of the crypto currency is preconditioned by the need to determine its legal regime in the most accurate way, which, in turn, determines regulation within the framework of corporate activities. However, we note that the theories and approaches that exist today are very different from each other. This can be explained by the existence of crypto currencies that differ in their essence and purpose, different legal traditions in a particular state, etc. The article examines the issue of the legal nature of crypto assets, as well as the problems associated with investing in this digital financial asset. The paper gives the classification of crypto currencies into centralized and decentralized currencies. The conclusion is made about the essential identity of centralized cryptocurrencies and undocumented securities. The possible prospects for expanding the use of decentralized crypto assets, as well as the norms of current legislation in this area are analyzed. The authors put forward proposals to improve the rules on digital financial assets: to consolidate the procedure for the admission of an asset to organized trading; to provide for mandatory disclosure requirements; to regulate ways to protect the rights of investors. The authors provide political and legal justification. Within the framework of the study, the authors also consider the approach to the legal regime of crypto assets that has been formed in the legislation and judicial practice of the United States.

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