Cryptocurrency: some aspects of criminal law protection

The article discusses certain features of the legal regulation of cryptocurrency, taking into account the specifics of building a model for the functioning of blockchain networks, which consists in combining various tools, technologies and principles that form a logical and secure structure for distributed data storage. The problems of criminal law protection of digital currency are highlighted and the most common scientific approaches are identified, on the basis of which the author indicates that the use of the concepts of “digital currency” and “cryptocurrency” as synonyms does not correspond to the legislative definition of digital currency, since the concept of cryptocurrency is wider in content than the concept of digital currency. As a result of a comprehensive analysis of the norms of the Federal Law of July 31, 2020 No. 259-FZ On Digital Financial Assets, Digital Currency and Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation, the author comes to the conclusion that digital currency is exclusively a “domestic” currency. Based on the study of judicial practice, it is shown that the broadest possible interpretation of the concept of “other property”, which includes digital currency and cryptocurrency, is allowed. It indicates the presence of judicial acts in criminal cases, in which the subject of a crime are such cryptocurrencies as, for example, bitcoin. Attention is focused on the importance of civil law regulation of cryptocurrencies for their criminal law protection and the range of social relations that develop regarding cryptocurrencies subject to protection by means of criminal law is determined.