Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Judge, PhD in Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
2
Master of Science in Intellectual Property Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, New Technologies Department, Judiciary Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The emergence of cryptocurrencies and their widespread adoption have had significant economic, political, and legal implications in contemporary societies. The criminal justice system, when lacking adequate legislative and executive infrastructure to regulate a complex and emerging phenomenon, faces serious challenges in dealing with ambiguous activities in the cryptocurrency sphere and, in some cases, a large number of victims affected by these activities. In such circumstances, critically analyzing judicial rulings to establish a coherent judicial precedent aimed at issuing well-founded and scholarly judgments becomes crucial. Accordingly, this study, using a documentary research method and a descriptive-analytical approach, examines judicial practices concerning criminal cases related to cryptocurrencies, focusing on two high-profile cases known as "King Money" and "Cryptoland." Findings indicate that legal gaps, the technical complexities of cryptocurrencies, and the insufficient expertise of criminal justice officials in both technical and substantive aspects of this field, along with the reliance on monetary and financial laws and limited government regulations on cryptocurrencies that lack the capacity for criminalization, have led to significant challenges. These include the non-technical application of concepts such as "fake cryptocurrency" and "fraudulent exchange" in judicial reasoning and, in some cases, the misalignment of criminal charges such as fraud, large-scale economic disruption, and illicit acquisition of property with cryptocurrency-related activities. Given the current lack of specific legal provisions, judicial practice must develop a comprehensive and precise understanding of cryptocurrency-related technical issues and, irrespective of a case’s prominence in society, appropriately categorize blockchain-related violations under the correct criminal law provisions while ensuring alignment with a well-defined and legally sound criminal policy.
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