Cryptoassets as Contemporary Threats to the Economic Security of the Country Kryptoaktywa jako współczesne zagrożenia bezpieczeństwa ekonomicznego państwa

Aim: The aim of this article is to present the conclusions of a research conducted in the area of identifying threats to the economic interests of the state related to the trading of cryptoassets, as well as the presentation of legal solutions functioning in the cryptoasset environment and possible remedial actions to be taken by the state authorities competent in this regard. Introduction: Due to the technological features, undefined legal status, regulatory and organizational risks of this instrument, the threats related to the trading of cryptoassets are one of the most important current threats from the point of view of the economic security of the country. They are identified both by domestic and foreign financial market supervision authorities, tax and law enforcement authorities, and those dealing with counteracting money laundering and the financing of the terrorists. The article presents the identified risk areas, legal regulations in the field of trading in these assets, and regulatory perspectives. An attempt was also made to describe the actions necessary to be taken to mitigate the threats. Methodology: In this work, theoretical research was used, such as: analysis of literature, on legal and strategic studies as well as industry literature, synthesis, generalization and inference. In addition, analysis was carried out of the legal acts related to the regulation of the market of cryptoassets, international strategic documents describing this market and the Polish financial supervision. Draft legal acts of a legislative nature were also presented. Conclusions: The market of cryptoassets is subject to constant legal, organizational and institutional transformations. Its socio-economic environment is also changing. Due to the characteristics of cryptoassets, their dispersed and unregulated nature, institutions of this market, both entities participating in transaction brokerage, as well as natural persons, can be used for money laundering, concealing property from various forms of crime. However, the identified vulnerabilities do not pose a significant threat to the economic security of the country – they are of a sectoral nature. The relevant state institutions undertake specific activities in order to counteract threats, both of a legal, institutional and organizational nature.


Introduction
Currently, in the security environment, we can distinguish various types of threats -military and non-military -and prove their importance from the point of view of state security. The most important non-military threats include: internal political crises, asymmetric and hybrid threats, economic and financial vulnerabilities, terrorism, threats in cyberspace, organized crime, corruption, human and drug trafficking as well as money laundering [1].
"An emergency is a situation or condition that threatens someone or in which someone feels threatened; also: someone who creates such a situation" [2], while according to another definition, a threat is a situation in which there is a probability of a dangerous state for the environment. Taking as the basis the domains in which the threat may occur, the already mentioned military and non-military threats can be distinguished. Among the latter, the following threats can be distinguished: political, economic, psychosocial, ecological, internal and others" [3].
In addition to the threats, it is also worth pointing to the key megatrends important from the point of view of security, i.e. trends with a particular strength, scope and area of impact.
They include: technological revolution, reconfiguration of balance of power in the international arena, crisis of liberal democracy, demographic prospects and climate change, and the so-called black swans − a term used in economics for an unexpected event that (almost) no one can predict [4].
Among the indicated trends, distinguished can be the technological revolution in various aspects of its impact, digital development, cyberspace, artificial intelligence, big data, which affect many areas of the state's functioning. Therefore, they pose chal- According to the report of the Financial Conduct Authority, Guidance on Cryptoassets, Consultation Paper CP19/3 [10] of January 2019, cryptoassets are most often used: -as a medium of exchange, usually functioning as a decentralized tool to buy and sell goods and services or to facilitate the regulation of payment services; -as an investment where companies and consumers are directly exposed to the risk of owning and trading cryptoassets or indirectly exposed by owning or trading financial instruments that relate to cryptoassets; -as support for raising capital and/or creating decentralized networks through initial coin offering or other distribution mechanisms.
Due to the technical conditions and the complex nature of the system infrastructure, it is not an easy task to distinguish between cryptoassets in terms of terminology. According to the already quoted ESMA report, Advice Initial Coin Offerings and Crypto-Assets, cryptoassets can be divided into digital currencies, cryptocurrencies and tokens, while in the documents of the US Treasury Department, the collective name is convertible 1 According to the information contained in "Puls Biznesu", Investors focus on motor yachts, an attractive form of investment is financial involvement in yachts, which may bring profits of 8-12% per year.
Polish scientific and practical literature can be divided into the following terms: cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies and digital currencies [12].
Due to the civil and legal nature of trading, the need to stabilize and develop the market, transparency and ensuring the security of transactions, the market of cryptoassets is subject to national regulations that relate to the following aspects: -cryptocurrency is a property right, is closely related to the economic interest of the rightholder, is transferable [13], is freely tradable and inherited; -due to the identified threats, the market of cryptocurrency is subject to regulations in the area of counteracting its use for money laundering or financing terrorism; -the possibility of taxing income from trading in cryptoassets; -in the context of using cryptocurrencies in the area of payment services, regulations have been developed for this market, analogous to those for selected institutions of the payment services market; -due to the use of cryptocurrencies as an investment instrument, there are regulations for this market, analogous to those for selected investment institutions and investment fund companies.
The structure and tasks of the national system of counteracting money laundering and financing terrorism are described in the Act of 1 March 2018 on counteracting money laundering and financing terrorism [14]. According to the document mentioned above, the authority competent to counteract these phenomena is the General Inspector of Financial Information. Obligated institutions and cooperating units are also essential elements of the system.
The definition of an obligated institution is subjective in nature -it indicates a catalogue of institutions (25 of them are characterized in the current Act), on which obligations in the area of counteracting money laundering and financing terrorism have been imposed [15]. Due to the definition of the catalogue of obligated institutions, the so-called cryptocurrency exchange platforms have been obliged to fulfil obligations in the area of counteracting money laundering and financing terrorism in the following areas: cryptoasset) oraz aktywa cyfrowe (ang. digital asset) [11].
In turn, in art. 2 clause 2 point 17e of this Act stipulates that "a virtual currency (cryptocurrency) account is a collection of identification data kept in an electronic form, which provides authorized persons with the possibility to use virtual currency units, including carrying out their exchange transactions" [14]. The amendment to the act [19] introduced additional solutions in the area of cryptoassets, i.e. in case of providing services in the area of trading or exchange between cryptoassets and a fiat currency (Latin fides -faith, legal tender) such activity is treated as a regulated activity (art. 129a.1). Therefore, in case of activities in this area, there will be an obligation to make an entry in the register of virtual currencies kept by the minister responsible for public finances. However, failure to meet the regulatory requirement will oraz jest wymienialne w obrocie gospodarczym na prawne środki płatnicze i akceptowane jako środek wymiany, a także może być elektronicznie przechowywane lub przeniesione albo może być przedmiotem handlu elektronicznego" [14].
Z kolei w art. 2 ust. 2 pkt 17e tej ustawy określono, że "rachunek wirtualnej waluty (kryptowaluty) to prowadzony w formie elektronicznej zbiór danych identyfikacyjnych zapewniających osobom uprawnionym możliwość korzystania z jednostek walut wirtualnych, w tym przeprowadzania transakcji ich wymiany" [14].  [22]. currency, the obligation to report transactions to the General Inspector of EUR 1,000, and to apply a full catalogue of financial security measures or the obligation to verify the client was introduced, including establishing personal data, PESEL number or date of birth, number of the identification document or address, determining the data of the real beneficiary -that is the person who actually exercises control over the customer.
The reason for this change was the analysis of the financial intelligence unit of transactions on this market provided by cryptocurrency exchange offices/stock exchanges and the related risks, as well as the need to implement EU regulations.
Another area of cryptoasset regulation is the tax system. Pursuant to the Act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax [20], revenues from trading in virtual currencies were classified as revenues from capital or capital gains. The above category includes: sale, cryptocurrency payment, payment of other liabilities, sale on the free market, stock exchange or exchange office. At the same time, specific rules for taxing cryptoassets were indicated.
These revenues will not be combined with other revenues from cash capitals (capital gains). Qualification as a source of income -cash capital -will be made even when the taxpayer will generate income from trading virtual currencies as part of his business. As a consequence, the loss incurred on trading in virtual currencies will not be deductible from the taxpayer's other income, e.g. from the sale of shares or from the conducted business activity.
In the context of profits from cryptocurrency trading, in con- Tax on natural and legal persons ranges from 17% to 32%, according to the tax scale.
A separate issue is the possibility of taxing cryptocurrency transactions with VAT. However, according to the interpretation of the Ministry of Finance, "the activity in the area of buying and selling cryptocurrencies is subject to VAT as a paid service, for VAT purposes, the concept of currencies used as legal tender also includes the so-called cryptocurrency. This means that the sale and exchange of a cryptocurrency for traditional currency and vice versa, as well as the exchange of one cryptocurrency for another, as long as it is subject to VAT, benefits from VAT exemption" [22].

Contemporary threats to the economic security of the state and cryptoassets
The term economic security is understood as "various activities (measures) in the area of national security, the main purpose of which is to ensure the economic conditions necessary for the survival, prosperity and sustainable development of the society, as well as the efficient operation of the state and its institutions, as well as the state obtained as a result of effective opposition to external and internal destructive factors that may lead to the developmental disorders" [25].
In case of economic security, we deal with its following dimensions: 1) "security of raw material (access to economically significant energy resources, water, metals, minerals -in the amount corresponding to the structure of the economy); 2) "food security (the ability of the state's economic system to ensure the physical and economic availability of food); 3) financial security: -external (foreign debt and the ability to resist financial crises), -internal (the ability of public finance systems to ensure financing of the national economy and the implementation of national interests" [26].
The most important threats in the context of economic secu- In the security environment of the market of cryptoassets, we can distinguish "threats of an internal nature -resulting from sets of various types of internal circumstances, specific SFT VOL. 58 ISSUE 2, 2021, PP. 164-178 to a given entity, which cause or may cause a disturbance of its internal stability and harmonious development in various manifestations of its activity, including weakening of its position or even loss of the possibility of survival in the environment of its functioning, and external -resulting from sets of various types of circumstances appearing in the environment of a given entity, which cause or may cause similar or the same effects" [27].
Current knowledge on cryptoassets -primarily taking into account the size of the market, the number of instruments available on the market, regulation of the activity of this area and legislative perspectives, development in the area of use as a financial or payment instrument -shows that threats to state security related to the activities of individual investors in terms of cryptoassets are declining. In 2020, the value of stolen or fraudulent cryptocurrencies decreased by 57% to $ 1.9 billion, according to a report by CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency security company.
A year earlier, this amount reached USD 4.5 billion [28].