CRYPTOCURRENCY. SINGAPORE EXPERIENCE

Photo from the sourceIn 2019, in order to create attractive conditions for the development of the Fintech sector in Singapore, the Payment Services Law was adopted, which consolidated the definition of cryptocurrency (digital payment tokens) and the procedure for its circulation. In addition, this Law established the criteria to distinguish payment tokens from other virtual objects — securities tokens, utility tokens, game currencies. The article analyzes the concept of digital payment tokens as a digital representation of value, considers the rules for making transactions with them. It is concluded that the use of such an approach minimizes difficulties in regulating the turnover of, for example, bitcoins. The main difficulty seems to be that the use of the digital value representation mode in relation to cryptocurrency is associated with the need to either establish an extraterritorial regime of regulation in relation to cryptocurrency exchanges or to adopt an international agreement in this area.Much of the discussion in the cryptocurrency literature has focused on its role as a competitor to legal tender. Cryptocurrencies are considered by some authors as an alternative to fiat money. Indeed, if we proceed from the prerequisites for the creation of bitcoin, then one can see that it was designed as an alternative to the existing agreements on sovereign currency, it was supposed to become a technological alternative, acting independently of any government. This became possible due to the fact that bitcoin is based on the application of blockchain technology and cryptography in a distributed ledger, which led to the emergence of a decentralized system in which there is no single controller or group of controllers, and all participants are involved in the development and use of the system. The launch of bitcoin in 2009 led to the subsequent development of a number of cryptocurrencies — there are…