가상자산의 법적 성격과 민사집행에 대한 고찰 -비트코인에 관한 논의를 중심으로-

Virtual assets are electronic vouchers that have an economic value and can be electronically traded or tranferred. The legal nature of virtual assets cannot be seen as things under the civil act, but it can be the subject of claim as at least property or property value. So the right possessed by those who have them basically has the characteristics of ‘Property right’. On the civil execution on virtual assets, Specification of Property and Inquiry can be used for the detection of the debtor’s virtual assets. But for the more efficient operation, ‘Virtual Asset Provider’ should be added on ‘Attached Form’ of the article 36(1) of Enforcement rule of the civil execution. And article 10 of Specified Financial Information Act needs to be amended to allow the court or the execution officer to receive an information of debtor’s virtual assets from virtual asset provider. For the ruling on a seizure on virtual assets, it should be regarded as ‘Other property rights’ under the Civil Execution Act. And the procedures of ‘Compulsory execution for a claim’ should be applied to virtual assets. The procedures of ‘Compulsory execution vary depending on the place of storage for virtual assets. If the Bitcoins are stored in the debtor’s electronic wallet, his cooperation is required to use his ‘Private Key’. Therefore, to increase effectiveness of the prohibition from debtor’s disposing, his obligation to cooperate should be specified in the Act. If the Bitcoins are stored on the virtual assets exchange, the procedures of ‘Compulsory execution for a claim’ should be applied to Bitcoins, because the debtor has the right to claim the return of virtual assets against the exchange. And legal basis are needed to neutralize his disposal after Order of Seizure of the Court. On the procedure of Encashment, it seems to be used Sale Order and Transfer Order as ‘the procedures of Compulsory execution for Electronic registered stock’.