Does Bitcoin Use Affect Crime Rates?

Bitcoin is the most widely used cryptocurrency in the world because of its decentralized network that completes user-to-user transactions, eliminating the need for intermediaries. During 2017, the volume of Bitcoin transactions totaled $94.3 trillion. Bitcoin transactions are recorded in a public database called the blockchain. Although the blockchain can keep track of how many transactions there are, it can’t identify the people involved in transactions. The lack of identity increases the anonymity of Bitcoin transactions, making it less detectable when used for crime. Using the Uniform Crime Reporting’s state-level crime rate data and blockchain’s Bitcoin transaction information, I estimate the effect Bitcoin use has on crime rates using an ordinary least squares approach. Previous studies analyze the link between crime and anonymous cryptocurrencies by citing cases in which they are used for: money laundering, trading illegal goods and services, financing terrorism, fraud, and tax evasion. Bitcoin makes crimes less detectable, therefore, I expect reported crime rates to decrease as Bitcoin use increases

BlockTag: Design and applications of a tagging system for blockchain analysis

Annotating blockchains with auxiliary data is useful for many applications. For example, e-crime investigations of illegal Tor hidden services, such as Silk Road, often involve linking Bitcoin addresses, from which money is sent or received, to user accounts and related online activities. We present BlockTag, an open-source tagging system for blockchains that facilitates such tasks. We describe BlockTag's design and present three analyses that illustrate its capabilities in the context of privacy research and law enforcement

Acceptance Factors for Cryptocurrencies as Payment Systems

The adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies is an active field of research in information systems, looking at the promise and issues hampering the arrival of cryptocurrencies as a general means of payment. However, an overwhelming number of papers only look at existing users and usually limit themselves to a single cryptocurrency, mostly Bitcoin. This paper adds to the body of research by creating a taxonomy of features for cryptocurrencies as payment systems, and conducting a user study with over 500 participants asking what features are most relevant for the adoption of a cryptocurrency. We identify cost-effectiveness and data confidentiality as crucial for potential users, but also find that these two factors are followed by a wealth of convenience features that have found less emphasis in present cryptocurrency implementations

Herd Behaviour in Cryptocurrency Markets

Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, with significant and sudden price shifts often influenced by investor sentiment. We demonstrate the significant role of herd behaviour in influencing positive attitudes and subsequent behaviour in cryptocurrency purchasing. Through a survey of 130 active cryptocurrency investors, we empirically examine the factors which influence attitudes and behaviours. Our results indicate that perceived behavioural control, social norms, and propensity to imitate others, a dimension of herd behaviour, strongly influence attitudes towards cryptocurrency behaviour and subsequent behaviours. These findings provide new insights into some of the psychological factors involved in the decision to invest in cryptocurrency and help to understand the unpredictable cryptocurrency market environment

Anonymity in Bitcoin? – The Users’ Perspective

This article analyzes how users perceive the degree of anonymity provided by the Bitcoin network, to what extent they are concerned about anonymity when using Bitcoin, whether they are knowledgeable of and concerned about specific de-anonymization attacks, and if they are aware of and adopt privacy-preserving countermeasures. A user survey with 125 active Bitcoin users reveals that 70% associate a medium or high level of anonymity with the Bitcoin network and rate their concerns as either low or medium. But almost every 5th user has already considered abandoning Bitcoin because of being concerned about anonymity. Though one third are aware of the risk of de-anonymizing the Blockchain but are not concerned, another almost 50% indeed feel concerned. Our findings have implications for users and developers, suggesting that actions should be undertaken to increase privacy awareness and the level of anonymity provided by the Blockchain and the Bitcoin network

The attitude of academic staff towards Bitcoin

Purpose: Bitcoin, the most prominent among cryptocurrencies, is a peer-to-peer (“P2P”) electronic currency and payment system used based on mutual trust. The study aims to measure awareness of Bitcoin, which has recently become popular among investors with its rapidly increasing use. To this end, a questionnaire was applied to the participants to evaluate their opinions and preferences regarding Bitcoin. With this purpose in mind, a questionnaire was applied to the academics of Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University in Turkey. Methodology: In the process of analysing the obtained data, frequency analysis and the chi-square test method were used by using the SPSS 26.0 software package. Results: According to the results of the study, it was observed that 51.6% of the academics (159 persons) had knowledge of Bitcoin, and while 31.5% of the academics participating in the study (97 persons) considered they would buy Bitcoin within five years, 57% (176 persons) conceived the use of Bitcoin would increase within ten years. Despite all these positive attitudes, it was also observed that 45.5% (140 people) considered Bitcoin as unreliable and 51.6% (159 persons) would prefer gold instead of using Bitcoin. As for the opinion of academics, it was concluded that gold and other different investment tools would be preferred instead of Bitcoin despite its increasing use. Conclusion: This research is important as it is the first research study in the field, which means that no similar study has been conducted in Turkey before, and it is thus expected to greatly contribute to the literature within the context of the importance and originality of the study

End-User Adoption of Bitcoin in South Africa

Since its introduction in 2008, the value and popularity of Bitcoin have risen exponentially.  Despite being 10 years old, the concept of crypto currency is fairly new in South Africa. The increase in the value of Bitcoin, together with extensive media coverage, has led to the creation of a Bitcoin economic system with many South Africans jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon. This study aims to identify the determinants affecting end-user adoption of Bitcoin in South Africa and to determine the main use of the crypto currency by South Africans. A research model was developed utilising constructs from the technology acceptance model and theory of planned behaviour. The model was then tested empirically by utilising two survey-based questionnaires, one for current users of Bitcoin and one for non-users. For users, perceived usefulness and access to facilitating conditions were the primary determinants influencing their decision to adopt the crypto currency while lack of trust and social influences were the primary reasons non-users chose not to adopt Bitcoin.  &nbsp

Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: A Look at Cryptocurrencies

This paper is, to my knowledge, one of the first ever to examine the effectiveness of price momentum trading strategies applied to cryptocurrencies. Using aggregate OHLCV (Open, High, Low, Close, Volume) data on cryptocurrency pairs from Poloniex, Bittrex, and Bitfinex, I apply Jegadeesh and Titman’s classic -month/-month momentum trading strategy, reporting annual returns with and without incorporating trading fees. Portfolios are resampled daily, weekly, and monthly, testing lookback and holding periods ranging from one day to one year. The results show that trading cryptocurrencies using momentum strategies derives returns that rapidly increase the more often portfolios are resampled, with the exception of weekly portfolios. However, after incorporating trading fees, returns between high and low frequency portfolios become more comparable, though daily strategies still bring the highest fee-adjusted returns at about 10% annually. This paper adds to the very limited research on momentum factors within the cryptocurrency market

Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin: Charting the Research Landscape

This systematic literature review examines cryptocurrencies (CCs) and Bitcoin. Because cryptocurrency research has not gained much attention from Information Systems (IS) researchers and needs a more vivid discussion, this review summarizes the main concepts of 42 papers and aligns them to IS Research. Although, cryptocurrency research has not reached IS mainstream yet, there is massive potential for multifaceted research ranging from protocol development to designing alternative digital currency schemes. Cryptocurrencies entail a core digital artifact and present a rich phenomenon based on the intertwining of technological artifacts and social contexts. We argue that cryptocurrencies are an alternative payment method that may replace intermediaries with cryptographic methods and should be embedded in the research areas of SIGeBIZ and SIGSEC. At the end of this literature review, we discuss some open research gaps like new business models based on cryptocurrencies or the influence of culture on cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin