Blockchain technology used in cryptocurrencies provides the possibility of ensuring the security of
recording and storing financial data, process automation, reducing the number of errors and
reducing costs in banking. Nevertheless, financial institutions still treat cryptocurrencies with
great caution. The aim of this article is to answer the question of whether it would be possible in
any dimension to integrate currently functioning cryptocurrencies with the banking system. The
resolution of this issue was carried out based on economic theories regarding the supply of money
and the construction of the banking system. The conclusions from the study are as follows: there
is no possibility of using cryptocurrency as money functioning in the current banking realities.
Cryptocurrency (such as bitcoin) as central bank money would prevent the central bank from
implementing monetary policy. The only form of integration of currently functioning
cryptocurrencies with the banking system could consist in facilitating access to these assets by
commercial banks, as an intermediary. The use of blockchain technology in banking, due to limited
access for external entities, may limit its advantages. Creating CBDC is a form of response of
central banks to the emergence of cryptocurrencies. However, without meeting the basic
assumptions of the functioning of cryptocurrencies such as: open protocol, free access, dispersion
of emissions, CBDCs cannot be identified with cryptocurrencies in the traditional sense.
Keywords: cryptocurrencies, money, banking system, blockchain technology, bitcoin