미국 지니어스법과 우리 스테이블코인 규제에의 시사점

With the enactment of the U.S. Genius Act, a regulatory framework for stablecoins has been established in the United States, and discussions and legislative proposals for stablecoin regulation are making concrete progress in South Korea as well. Stablecoins are a type of digital asset, and digital assets are referred to interchangeably or coexist as virtual assets or crypto-assets depending on international organizations or regions. In this study, we will examine the legal status of stablecoins, which, unlike other digital assets, are based on value stabilization mechanisms, and then derive policy implications for our legal system based on the latest regulatory legislation, the U.S. Genius Act. Specifically, first, we review the concept and types of stablecoins based on existing legislative examples and compare them with central bank digital currencies to examine their nature and legal treatment. Second, we first consider the legal characteristics of digital assets with a focus on tangibility and proprietary rights, and then sequentially examine whether stablecoins are securities and their status as means of payment. Third, we look at the key contents of the U.S. Genius Act, including the legislative background and regulatory principles, and also review the CDBC Prohibition Act. Finally, as regulatory principles to be applied to our legal system, we confirm the necessity of financial stability, the separation of banking and commerce, and user protection measures, and propose solutions regarding issuers and reserve assets. In this regard, measures should also be explored to explicitly allow the role of Bank of Korea along with its monitoring and supervisory functions.