Between freedom and regulation. Cryptocurrencies in the modern economy – in search of a desirable model

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of the policy of states towards the creation and development of cryptocurrencies, understood as decentralised virtual currencies that function in a peer-to-peer network communication model, are cryptographically secured, are traded on the basis of trust and consensus, and fulfil incompletely some of the functions of money. The emergence and development of cryptocurrencies are determined by many changes both in the virtual space and in reality. Their increasing importance and impact on the economy make it seem necessary, 15 years after the emergence of bitcoin, to design policies that respond to the new challenges. The author attempts to respond to this need. The aim of the article was to design a model policy for countries on cryptocurrency trading. Five such projects have emerged: 1) domination, 2) friendly coexistence, 3) laissez-faire, 4) partial acceptance, and 5) prohibitions. The article presents the empirical content of each policy, which was derived from indicators developed during a multi- stage research project. These indicators formed the cryptocurrency freedom index. This was followed by a quantitative research among cryptocurrency users in Poland. One of the modules of this study used the aforementioned index. The research made it possible to evaluate all draft policies, and the outline of the study results presented in the publication made it possible to identify the state policy model expected by users.