ANALYSIS OF THE ESSENCE OF VIRTUAL FINANCIAL ASSETS

The scientific article is devoted to a critical analysis of the essence and legal regulation of virtual assets, starting with the appearance of Bitcoin in 2009. It is noted that despite the dynamic development of the virtual assets market over the past fifteen years, there remains significant uncertainty in their definition, classification and economic essence. The article examines the conflicts in the definition of the concept of “virtual assets” in the current legislation of Ukraine, and also analyzes the evolution of terminology in the regulatory framework of the European Union and the FATF Recommendations. The article highlights various scientific views on the economic nature of virtual assets, which are considered as electronic money, a commodity, a financial instrument, a means of payment, surrogate money or intangible assets. Particular attention is paid to the argumentation regarding the difference between virtual assets and traditional electronic money and the debatability of their classification as monetary surrogates. It is emphasized that virtual assets are a unique financial phenomenon that combines certain characteristics of intangible assets, financial instruments, property and means of payment. It is substantiated that the lack of a clear and harmonized legislative framework for virtual assets leads to legal uncertainty of transactions with cryptocurrencies and the impossibility of their effective taxation, which creates risks for investors and makes it impossible for the market to function properly. The author proposes his own vision of the place of virtual assets in the system of financial payment instruments and concludes that it is necessary to develop specialized, comprehensive legislation to stimulate innovation, protect investors and ensure a transparent tax system.