فرصت‌ها و چالش‌های دارایی‌های دیجیتال از منظر حقوق عمومی در نظام حقوقی ایران و کانادا

In recent years, the rapid developments in new technologies, especially blockchain technology, and the emergence of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, tokens, and smart contracts, have led to fundamental changes in the economic and legal structures of countries. These developments have provided new opportunities for financial development, increased transparency, promoted economic inclusion, and expanded innovation, but at the same time, they have confronted public law systems with deep and complex challenges in the areas of monetary governance, regulation, economic security, tax justice, public oversight, and financial discipline. Features such as decentralization, lack of need for intermediary institutions, possibility of rapid transfer, globality and the ability to remain anonymous in transactions have caused digital assets to require careful legal analysis, explanation and organization not only from the perspective of private law but especially from the perspective of public law. In response to these challenges, the Islamic Republic of Iran, by implementing "Note 3, Paragraph D" of the "Strategic Document of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Cyberspace - approved by the 84th session of the Supreme Cyberspace Council of the country on 11/5/1401", the major action of the twenty-second row of Paragraph D of the Strategic Document of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Cyberspace on the subject of "Cryptocurrency Regulation, Including the Creation of a National Cryptocurrency and Organizing the Use of Globally Accepted Cryptocurrencies" approved by the 157th session of the Supreme Cyberspace Regulation Commission of the country on 19/10/1403, took the first major step towards governing digital assets. This code was developed with the aim of designing regulatory mechanisms, regulating the use of foreign cryptocurrencies and developing a national cryptocurrency under the supervision of the Central Bank, and includes measures for licensing, combating criminal use, regulating the role of government institutions, and strengthening digital economic governance. However, this code alone is not able to fully respond to the requirements of legal governance in this area; because the lack of a comprehensive upstream law, the lack of effective enforcement guarantees, the conflict of duties and jurisdiction of multiple institutions, and the lack of unity of legal procedure have caused its capacities to remain limited in practice.

In contrast, the Canadian legal system has addressed the issue of digital assets by utilizing a federal structure, efficient specialized institutions, and a gradual, flexible, and scientific approach. Institutions such as the Financial Reporting and Analysis Centre of Canada, provincial securities commissions, Revenue Canada, and the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, each with specific competencies and institutional cooperation, have provided a relatively appropriate regulatory framework for identifying cryptocurrency activities, regulating transactions, combating money laundering, and collecting taxes on digital assets. Canada's approach emphasizes the balance between the public interest, supporting innovation, and protecting national economic sovereignty and is considered a suitable model for developing countries, including Iran.

The necessity of this research is prominent and important because in the existing legal literature, the dominant focus is on the criminal, financial, or technical dimensions of digital assets, and the public law dimensions, especially in areas such as the government's authority to create money, tax justice, regulating fair competition, and protecting the public interest, have received less attention. The present study, using an analytical-comparative method and based on the analysis of legal texts, policy documents and official reports, attempts to explain the theoretical foundations of public law in the field of digital governance, while also revealing the shortcomings of the Iranian legal system in comparison with the Canadian legal structure and providing solutions for improvement.

The findings of the article show that in the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the important step of the Digital Assets Code approved in 1403, due to the lack of explicit legislation at upstream levels, the absence of a specific reference institution for regulation, weak cooperation between agencies and ambiguity in public law related to the creation and circulation of digital money, the possibility of achieving effective governance over digital assets faces serious limitations. In Canada, institutional coherence, the provision of transparent laws, institutional accountability and the use of technology for continuous monitoring of digital markets have paved the way for the formation of an efficient governance in some positions.

Accordingly, the results of the present study indicate that reforming the structure of Iran's public law in dealing with digital assets requires the development of a comprehensive law with theoretical support from public law, the designation of a specialized regulatory body, and the development of cooperation between government, judicial, and security agencies. Also, intelligent adaptation of comparative experiences from countries such as Canada can be effective in designing a local digital governance system based on transparency, legitimacy, and accountability. In light of this analysis, the present article aims to provide theoretical and practical foundations for the Iranian legal system to more effectively deal with the opportunities and threats of digital assets.