The first cryptocurrency appeared only in 2009, based on the revolutionary blockchain technology – and there are already more than 2,000 assets on the market, and more and more new coins appear every year. The new financial instrument appeared so unexpectedly that the state structures of all countries were not ready for such changes. For a long time, cryptocurrency remained a truly independent asset, operations with which were not regulated by law in any way. However, with the growth of turnover, the situation began to change – it was impossible to ignore the change in financial reality for longer.
Various countries began to develop their own ways of working with cryptocurrency. Basically, everyone was divided into three groups:
- a significant number of countries have completely banned all operations with cryptocurrency;
- some countries have granted digital assets certain rights, equating them to property rights, but not recognizing their right to be a form of payment;
- finally, the most progressive part of the countries, which decided not to prohibit, but to lead the development of digital assets, providing, according to certain rules, licenses for the right to work with cryptocurrency.
The last group of countries is still in the minority, but the process of legalizing cryptocurrency is gradually moving forward. Lithuania was one of the first countries that decided not to ban a new financial instrument, but established certain rules for working with it and issued Cryptocurrency exchange license.