Virtual currencies are considered the money of both the present and the future. They play a central role in numerous criminal offenses due to their widespread use across all aspects of life, as they perform all traditional functions of money. This has led to the emergence of various crimes, both traditional—such as theft, forgery, money laundering, and fraud—and modern crimes that have only recently been criminalized by legislators, such as hacking digital wallets and crimes related to virtual currency mining. This research presents a definition of virtual currencies, their types, and the technology used in their production, particularly blockchain technology. It also examines the classification of crimes associated with virtual currencies, which are divided into crimes committed against the currencies themselves and crimes committed against digital wallets used to store and exchange virtual currency codes. The importance of this topic lies in the serious risks of leaving virtual currencies outside the scope of criminal regulation. Given their unique characteristics—such as difficulty in tracking, and the ease and speed of transferring funds—these currencies are often used to facilitate illegal darknet transactions and serve as intermediaries in numerous unlawful activities that constitute criminal offenses, such as financing terrorism, arms and drug trafficking, and money laundering. Legalizing the status of virtual currencies and establishing regulatory frameworks can play a key role in reducing and combating such crimes. The central research problem revolves around the question: What is the nature of criminal protection afforded to virtual currencies? This leads to several subsidiary questions, including: To what extent is it legal to deal in virtual currencies? Which approach is more effective for states in combating crimes related to virtual currencies—legal recognition or criminalization? Can virtual currencies be counterfeited? What is the impact of virtual currencies on the crime of money laundering? And how do virtual currencies contribute to financing terrorism and trafficking in weapons and narcotics? The research concluded with several findings, among them: the spread of virtual currencies has given rise to many newly emerging criminal offenses; economic courts have jurisdiction over virtual currency crimes; and virtual currencies can be subject to property crimes, including theft and fraud. The study also provides several recommendations, including: the importance of regulating the legal status of virtual currencies; the need for legislative intervention to establish deterrent penalties for crimes associated with them; the adoption of advanced technologies to track the movement of virtual currencies and detect suspicious patterns; tightening oversight of the financial and banking sector through modern technological tools; and integrating blockchain technology where feasible. Keywords: virtual currency crimes, electronic money laundering, electronic terrorism financing, Bitcoin, blockchain.