Cryptocurrencies and their impact on society and economy

Digitalno doba nam donosi brojne nove tehnologije koje imaju potencijal u potpunosti izmijeniti našu svakodnevicu. Jedna od tih tehnologija je blockchain, a upravo je ona zaslužna za nastanak kriptovaluta koje su u fokusu ovog rada. Kriptovalute predstavljaju alternativu novcu dostupnu na pametnim uređajima korisnika koji mogu vršiti međusobnu razmjenu bez potrebe za uključivanjem trećih strana. S obzirom na svoje karakteristike, bitcoin posjeduje potencijal da u budućnosti zamijeni novac koji danas poznajemo, ali u svijetu kriptovaluta sve je nepredvidivo. Teorijski dio rada daje detaljan pregled kriptovaluta kao i tehnologije zaslužne za njihov nastanak i funkcioniranje. Također, fokus je na njihovu utjecaju na društvo i gospodarstvo današnjice odnosno odabrane aspekte. Empirijski dio rada odnosi se na istraživanje stavova i povjerenja ispitanika u kriptovalute i njihov utjecaj. Osim što se kroz primarno istraživanje ispitalo poznavanje kriptovaluta od strane ispitanika, ispitalo se njihovo mišljenje o utjecaju kriptovaluta na pojedine aspekte opisane u radu.The digital age brings us new technologies which have the potential to entirely change our everyday life. One of these technologies is blockchain which is the technology responsible for the creation of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies represent an alternative to money available on users smart devices that allow them to exchange money without the need to involve third parties. Taking into consideration all of their characteristicts, bitcoin has the potential to replace the money as we know it in the future but in the world of cryptocurrencies everything is unpredictable. The theoretical framework of this paper provides a detailed overview of cryptocurrencies and the technology responsible for their origin and functioning. Additionally, the focus is on their impact on todays society and economy, ie selected aspects. The empirical part of the paper deals with the research of respondents attitudes and confidence in cryptocurrencies and their influence. In addition to examining the knowledge of cryptocurrencies by the respondents through the primary research, their opinion on the influence of cryptocurrencies on certain aspects described in the paper was also examined