Legal status of non-fungible tokens (NFT): current state and prospects of legal regulation

Abstract

The subject. The paper considers the legal status of non-fungible tokens – a technology that allows to secure and confirm the possession of a certificate that refers to a specific digital object, based on a distributed ledger (blockchain).The purpose of the article is to research the current state of the legal status of NFTs in the Russian Federation, as well as to determine the applicability of the current Russian legislation to NFTs.The research methodology is based on the application of methods of systemic and structural analysis, formal logic, as well as methods of legal forecasting and interpretation of legal norms.The results. There is a lack of comprehensive studies on this issue in legal science. The value of NFT is substantiated through the categories of "rivalrousness" and "scarcity". The process of creating NFT - "mint", that is, the tokenization of a digital object, is described. The legal status of NFT is investigated, as a result of which it is concluded that the token is not equivalent to a digital object, but rather acts as a custodian of information about this object.Taking into account, firstly, the independent nature of the NFT, which is not only a digital copy of the original work, secondly, the vast scope of utilitarian application and, thirdly, its independent commercial value, it is indicated that in the perspective of the development of legislation and judicial practice, NFT should be regarded as an independent digital asset, the rights to which are subject to legal protection.Conclusions. At present, Russian legislation does not contain a legal structure suitable for NFTs. The problems of using NFT are highlighted, including the "tokenization" of other people's works, interference in the operation of trading platforms using technical vulnerabilities, as well as fraud. Since NFT can confirm not only the right of ownership, but also represent any subjective right, it is assumed that this technology can be used to maintain decentralized blockchain registries of real estate, shares, members of the society, vote in elections, as well as to verify identity, while simultaneously ensuring the protection of personal data.