Cryptocurrency Offences: The Legal Dimension of Cryptocurrencies and Their Assessment under the Turkish Criminal Code

2020Murat Volkan Dülger, Onur ÖzkanArticle

Abstract

This work was written in Turkish. The summary on this page is a translation; the citation gives the original title in parentheses.

Cryptocurrencies and their best-known example, Bitcoin, are regarded as the first product of blockchain technology and promise radical changes to traditional commerce and to the concept of money accepted today. Governments are seen to take differing attitudes in the face of this effect of cryptocurrency. While developed countries recognise cryptocurrencies as assets and tax them, some countries are known to have chosen to prohibit their use. Despite the prohibition and taxation efforts in this area, there is as yet no legal instrument regulating cryptocurrencies at national or international level.

The study first examines the concepts of money and cryptocurrency and then sets out the national and international developments in this field. In the second and final part of the study, cryptocurrencies are assessed under the provisions of the Turkish Criminal Code, with particular attention to the question whether cryptocurrencies can constitute the object of the offence of theft.