The Concept of Trust as the Basis of Interaction in the Framework of Digital Currencies

Introduction: most of the studies devoted to the phenomenon of digital currencies are related to the assessment of the role and importance of the latter as a competitor to the legitimate means of payment. However, the basis for the legitimization of monetary institutions is trust. Digital currencies formed without the participation of a public regulator would not have been so widely distributed without the necessary level of public consensus on their use. In this regard, the author formulated the objectives of the study related to identifying the features, role and significance of trust as a tool for legitimizing digital currencies in the status of a quasi-monetary phenomenon. Methods: the research methodology is based on the epistemological mechanism of holistic analytical and synthetic research. Used in the system unity, the analytical stage of studying the object was associated with the formation of knowledge about the components that collectively provide the legitimization of digital currencies, and the synthetic stag was about the relationships that combine these components into an integral object. The dialectical and comparative legal methods were also used as the methodological framework for the study. Results: the formulated author’s approach is based on the research materials of domestic and foreign authors, a system analysis of the regulatory material and law enforcement practice, the logical conclusions based on the features of the legitimization of cryptocurrencies. The scope of application of the results: the obtained research results can be used as the basis for more in-depth research on the essence, legal nature, and features of the legal regime of digital currencies. Conclusions: in the course of the study, the features of the legal and technological component in the legitimation of the digital currency have been considered; the conclusions have been drawn on the issue of their correlation. The concept of trust in the digital environment has been formulated. The similarities and differences between the mechanism of legitimation of monetary units and digital currencies have been revealed. It is concluded that digital currencies show the signs inherent in monetary phenomena, which are characterized by dependence not only on the legitimizing decision of the state, but also on the degree of their recognition by society.