The Concept and Types of Digital Currencies in the Context of Doctrinal Debates

Russian legal scholarship remains divided over the issue whether obligations may arise, and if so, what obligations an information system operator may owe to a holder of digital currency. Scholars also debate whether cryptocurrency constitutes a type of digital currency or whether the two are distinct legal objects. The study analyzes the statutory definition of digital currency and compares it with the doctrinal concept of cryptocurrency. The author concludes that the Russian legislature has adopted a broad definition of digital currency, which may be issued through an open (public, decentralized) or closed (private, centralized) distributed ledger, or independently of a distributed ledger through other network technologies. Cryptocurrency constitutes a type of digital currency issued on a decentralized distributed ledger. For digital objects to qualify as digital currency, their issuer must not have obligations towards their holders other than those directly related to the organization and operation of the information system itself. At the same time, an information system operator and the system's nodes may assume obligations towards digital-currency holders to maintain the proper functioning of the information system, ensure the orderly conduct of digital-currency mining, and make the relevant entries in the information system. Since cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency, all rules established for digital currency under Federal Law No. 259-FZ dated 31 July 2020 may appropriately be extended to cryptocurrency, which is both practical and consistent with the legislature's approach.

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