Methods of Encroachment on Cryptoproperty: Main Types and Qualification

Abstract

The rapid growth in the capitalisation of the cryptoasset market has led to an increase in the number of criminal encroachments on cryptoproperty. The technological complexity and digital nature of cryptoassets give rise to new methods of their unlawful acquisition, which creates a need for the scientific systematisation of such encroachments and the formation of unified approaches to their criminal-law qualification. The aim of the article is to classify the principal methods of stealing cryptoassets and, based on the analysis of the mechanism by which they are committed, to determine the specific features of the criminal-law qualification of such acts under the criminal legislation of Ukraine. The dialectical, formal-legal, system-structural, comparative-legal, and sociological methods have been employed. It is proposed to divide the methods of encroachment on cryptoproperty into two groups: traditional (violent seizures, fraudulent acquisitions, misappropriation, embezzlement, or seizure through the abuse of office) and non-traditional (the use of spyware, substitution of payment details, the use of counterfeit tokens, and exploitation of vulnerabilities in smart contracts). In cases involving the use of technical means of interference in the operation of information systems, the perpetrator's actions require additional qualification under the articles of Chapter XVI of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.