72 CRYPTO-CURRENCY: LEGAL APPROACHES TO THE CONCEPT FORMATION DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14420/en.2016.1.2 Alimbek Khidzev, Post-graduate student of the Law and Political Science Departmentat the International Institute of Public Administration and Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. <...> The article contain a brief retrospective journey into development of crypto-currency, determine its legal status with the point that that the legal base of this phenomenon is very poor and hardly developed and highlight some pressing issues of social relations involving crypto-currency. <...> The primary analysis of Bitcoin as a crypto-currency is performed, showing its pros and cons of usage. <...> The essential features of crypto-currency are defined, such as decentralized nature, anonymity and lack of guarantee. <...> It is also emphasized that the cryptocurrency should not be banned, it must be studied, apprehended and maybe regulated properly. <...> Keywords: Bitcoin, crypto-currency, currency emission, legal status of cryptocurrency, virtual currency, electronic money, computer technology, cryptography. <...> It is uneasy to explain the idea and nature of crypto-currency to a non-specialist in cryptography and computer technologies. <...> There are various kinds of crypto-currency on the web, the most popular being Bitcoin, Litecoin, Namecoin, NXT, PPCoin, Quark and others 1 by the end of 2013 the total number of crypto-currencies reached 80 2 . <...> Though widely spread, Bitcoins have very poor and hardly developed legal base. <...> It 1 Cohen R. The Top 30 Crypto-Currency Market Capitalizations In One Place // URL: http://www. forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2013/11/27/the-top-30-crypto-currency-market-capitalizations-in-oneplace/ 2 An Analysis of Anonymity in the Bitcoin System // URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.4524 LAW AND MODERN STATES Alimbek Khidzev «The subject and the method.» 1/2016 73 is quite enough to pool resources and start the crypto-currency studies and legal grounding, especially since “the Central Bank and Russian Government can with due time develop regulations for electronic currencies circulating in Russia” 1 , as the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Georgiy I. Luntovskiy was quoted by media. <...> Like any other currency that we deal with in daily life, the crypto-currency has its own purchasing power. <...> It is noteworthy that, for instance, Bitcoin was officially trading at $404 as of 26 September 2014, while in December 2013 it hit $1’151 <...>