Development of virtual currencies is a result of the development of technology, the internet and computers. The offer of a particular virtual currency is based on technological solutions. They are not money because they do not fulfil the basic functions of money. The question is what the challenges of virtual currency are, and what their significance for a global economy is. The most well-known virtual currency, bitcoin, is most often put in relation to the USA dollar. The growth of its value since 2014 is a commonly known phenomenon all over the world. Exactly this is where the problem, which is explored in this work, comes up. It is particularly importance of virtual currency for public and financial institutions, also the growth of value of bitcoin which surprise wider public and mark the beginning of popularity of virtual currency and investment in them. Investing in bitcoin is risky because it is not only that his value can fall drastically, but there is possibility that it will completely disappear. Bitcoin is not a legal instrument of payment in the Republic of Croatia, it does not count as a foreign currency, it has no features of electronic money. It is not certain that it will ever be accepted as a legal means of payment, nor will the central body regulate it. Bitcoin can mean the beginning of the end of monopoly of central banks in making money, but this is just one of its potential. Also, he is now very expensive for most of the population, as one unit is about $ 7,000, and his value is constantly decreasing, and so does the number of clients who had so far owned it. The result of this research is that bitcoin, as a contemporary currency depends on the future development of technology and demand from an educated client who is familiar with his value and potential.