MODELS OF STATE REGULATION OF THE VIRTUAL ASSETS MARKET IN OFFSHORE ZONES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF BERMUDA ISLANDS, GIBRALTAR, AND MALTA)

Abstract

Since the emergence of the virtual currency Bitcoin in 2009, the problem of the development of an effective model of the virtual assets market regulation became extremely relevant for each country in the world. For the offshore zones, the emergence of the virtual assets market has become a new opportunity to attract investments while creating the simplest and clearest legal regulation. This paper aims to identify the concept similarities of the virtual assets market regulation in the offshore zones of Bermuda Islands, Gibraltar, and Malta. We found a tendency towards developing a new set of legislation specifically aimed at regulating the relations in the virtual assets market in selected jurisdictions. We argue that that the trend of introducing a mono-regulatory model of government regulation of the virtual assets market dominates in the offshore zones. However, we found that there are clear limits of the discretionary powers of the local regulators. Comparative regulatory practices of selected jurisdictions serve as a guide to improve the existing Ukrainian regulatory framework in this sphere and regulatory challenges, in order to assess urgent issues that the legislature and regulators are facing.