ГЕНЕЗА ЦИФРОВОЇ ВАЛЮТИ У ЦИВІЛЬНОМУ ПРАВІ УКРАЇНИ

Abstract

The rapid development of digital currencies as a new phenomenon in property relations necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their nature and their place within the system of civil law. In this context, the article is devoted to studying the genesis of digital currency as an object of civil legal relations in Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to identify the historical preconditions and stages of formation of digital currency as an object of civil legal relations, to analyze the evolution of legal regulation of relevant objects in Ukrainian law from ancient times to the present, and to attempt to define the place of digital currency within the structure of Ukraine’s civil legislation. To achieve this purpose, the article employs a historical and legal analysis of the development of legal regulation of civil rights objects related to digital currency at major stages of Ukrainian history (from the times of Kyivan Rus, the Cossack era, and the Ukrainian People’s Republic to independent Ukraine), using historical, comparative, and formal-legal methods. It has been established that during the Kyivan Rus and Zaporizhian Sich periods, monetary circulation was based on traditional forms (metal money, commodity equivalents). The period of the Ukrainian People’s Republic was marked by the legislative introduction of a national currency. In contemporary independent Ukraine, the legal system is adapting to the emergence and spread of electronic money and digital currencies. Within the framework of the updated Civil Code of Ukraine, the article reveals the concept of “digital thing”—a new legal construct referring to an asset that is created and exists exclusively in a digital environment and possesses property value. The article emphasizes that the historical experience of regulating objects of civil law in Ukraine is essential for modern normative regulation of digital currencies. This approach allows the consideration of past experiences when creating an effective legal framework for regulating cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).