Physica A 528 (2019) 121263

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Physica A
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/physa

Consumer-based modeling and ranking of the consumption

factors of cryptocurrencies
∗
Yaser Sobhanifard a , , Seyedjavad Sadatfarizani b
a
Department of Business Management and Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Resalat, Tehran, Iran
b
Iran university of science and technology, Resalat, Tehran, Iran

highlights

• Purpose: This study explores a mixed model for the factors promoting the use of cryptocurrencies.
• Findings: According to the findings, thirty-one factors affect cryptocurrency usage.
• Originality/value: For the first time, the present study models the consumption factors of cryptocurrencies and ranks them from
the consumers’ perspective.

article info a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study explores a mixed model for the factors promoting the use of cryptocurrencies.
Received 21 October 2018 This research has conducted by theoretical saturation, exploratory factor analysis and
Received in revised form 10 April 2019 the Fridman test. According to the findings, thirty-one factors affect cryptocurrency
Available online 13 May 2019
usage. The results revealed that the central banks in developing countries, commercial
Keywords: banks, financial institutions, financial and business managers, public policymakers, and
Cryptocurrency even the general public can capitalize on these factors. This study also explored a
Consumer model developed based on the EFA that confirmed the positive effect of three factors
Technology acceptance on the level of cryptocurrency usage, namely the technological skills, technological
Transaction ambiguity, and technological advantages. For the first time, the present study models
the consumption factors of cryptocurrencies and ranks them from the consumers’
perspective.
© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The last few decades have experienced swift technological progress [1]. As a result, technology management has
become essential for governments, organizations, firms, and other stakeholders. Cryptocurrency is a new technology that,
according to many researchers, is changing the payment industry [2]. The technology rids consumers of dependence
to a central government that owns and prints the currency. In addition, this method of payment obliterates the
traditional practices and paperwork needed for transferring money, as well as improving the transaction security by
means of cryptography. The technology has grown in popularity thanks to such advantages as anonymous and expediting
transactions, as well as reducing international transaction costs, cutting the middle man, and contributing to community-
based ventures such as crowdsourcing and financing. Some economists acknowledge the cryptocurrency as information
technology’s response to the shortcomings of financial and monetary systems. It is, therefore, anticipated that the crypto

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sobhanifard@iust.ac.ir (Y. Sobhanifard).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.121263
0378-4371/© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2 Y. Sobhanifard and S. Sadatfarizani / Physica A 528 (2019) 121263

technology will be welcome all around the world [3]. In spite of the discussed significance and advantages, the technology
comes with its downsides—that are harsher to particular economies. In this regard, one member of the Iranian parliament
claimed that in excess of 2.5 billion dollars has been pulled out of the country through the purchase of digital currencies.
In this regard, the future of this technology is highly interesting to both the legislature and future study centers.
According to Gartner, the cryptocurrency technology will be in full swing in a matter of five to ten years [4]. Furthermore,
developed countries, including the USA, China, Germany, Russia, and France, have been investigating the hidden aspects
of the technology, even in some cases, giving legislative support to facilitate or prohibit the concerned technologies [5].
It is a fact that the popularity of the technology is growing. Planners and policymakers at the different levels of business,
whether from the public or private sector, need to contemplate how to manage this technology and its consequences
more vigorous than in the past.
Furthermore, in addition to the discussed benefits, the significance of the technology can be realized from its con-
comitant disadvantages, one being the surrounding ambiguity. Some studies show that the increasing vagueness around
the use, operation, and reliability of cryptocurrencies has concerned many users [6]. For example, there are no decisive
legislations for businesses operated based on cryptocurrency technology [2]. The difficulty of identifying cryptocurrency
users has led to concerns about money laundering in many communities, including the EU [7]. Furthermore, the various
– and sometimes conflicting – interests of consumers necessitates a practical model for policymakers [2]. The discussed
issues show that research and execution centers need to address the factors affecting the use of cryptographic currencies
[2]. Therefore, this study explores a model and the priority of factors of adopting the cryptocurrency technology, from
the consumer’s perspective.
Despite the significance of investigating the cryptocurrencies with a consumer behavior approach and the many recent
researches on cryptocurrencies [3,6–9], the extent of these attempts does not match the growth rate of the technology
[2]. A review of previous researches reveals the shortage to be more tangible in the field of consumer behavior as a
reliable study is yet to be published concerning the reception of cryptocurrencies from the consumer’s point of view
[2,10]. Meanwhile, the acceptance of a particular technology has a considerable impact on its market success or failure
[11], and there is a lack of studies on this subject. In this regard, the present study – for the first time – models the
said factors and ranks them from the consumers’ perspective. Considering the significance of cryptocurrencies, this study
serves to benefit the public as it explores factors affecting the acceptance of the technology. The results are suggestive of
the attractiveness of the advantages offered by the cryptocurrencies to the consumers, including the freedom of payment,
international access [12], low transaction costs, high-speed international and transboundary transfers [13], irreversible and
secure payments, and money security and control [14]. Moreover, the results of this study can be beneficial to governments
in such areas as money creation, inflation control, the possibility of interception, and transparency [15].
The article is structured as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of cryptocurrencies, technology acceptance,
and factors affecting the cryptocurrencies. After establishing the research framework, the article explains the adopted
methods. Sections 4 and 5 present the results and discussions; and Sections 6–8 discuss the limitations, as well as giving
recommendations for future studies, and the managerial implications and conclusions.

2. Literature review

2.1. Cryptocurrency

The cryptocurrency has only been in existence for a few years now, and therefore, has been addressed only by a
handful of studies [16]. The cryptocurrency is unique in that, as a currency, its supply and authentication are carried
out by mathematical and cryptographic algorithms. This process disposes of the centralized regulators. The security
of cryptocurrency transactions is provided by cryptography, which boosts consumers’ confidence in the currency. The
architecture reduces transaction costs and improves transmission speed, but most importantly, prevents the loss of the
value of the currency by negligent money creation [17]. In fact, this is a digital tool using a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) decentralized
system to carry out transactions [18]. Transactions made using cryptocurrencies are irreversible, and the system will
be able to record and store the transfer data in its entirety. There are several cryptocurrencies that managed to attract
investors. Table 1 presents some information on the cryptocurrency market capitalization in 2019.1

2.2. Technology acceptance

Technology acceptance theories investigate the choices and decisions an individual takes to embrace or reject a
particular technology. For instance, Rogers introduces four factors that contribute to the promotion and diffusion of a
new idea, namely the innovation, communication channels, time, and the social system [19]. In this regard, the Theory of
Rational Action (TRA) is one of the famous examples that attempt to explain the acceptance mechanism [20]. Developed
in the field of social psychology by Ajzen, the TRA is the earliest of technology acceptance theories, in which the attitude
has either a direct or indirect effect on behavior and can be either one-dimensional or multidimensional. The theory was
considered to be moderated by two main constructs, namely attitude toward behavior and the subjective norm [21].

1 http://www.forex-ratings.com/cryptocurrencies-rating/.
 Y. Sobhanifard and S. Sadatfarizani / Physica A 528 (2019) 121263 3

Table 1
Capitalization of the cryptocurrency market.
# Cryptocurrency Price. USD Market cap. USD
1 Bitcoin (bitcoin) 5401.16 $95 267 831 687
2 Ethereum (ethereum) 182.37 $19 258 990 257
3 XRP (ripple) 0.36 $14 990 495 244
4 Litecoin (litecoin) 89.97 $5 513 588 211
5 Bitcoin cash (Bitcoin cash) 309.61 $5 486 515 469
6 EOS (eos) 5.86 $5 307 734 938
7 Binance coin (binance coin) 18.37 $2 593 390 393
8 Stellar (stellar) 0.13 $2 456 141 678
9 Cardano (cardano) 0.09 $2 374 122 836
10 Tether (tether) 1.01 $2 268 847 627

Over time, Ajzen improved the TRA model and introduced his new model, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).
The new model took on the facility or difficulty of implementing a favorite behavior. It was expanded by adding a
new construct, the perceived behavioral control, which was theorized to be an additional determinant of intention and
behavior. The TPB has been successfully applied to understand individual acceptance and utilization of technologies
[11,20]. Furthermore, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is another famous model in the field of technology
acceptance, which was introduced by Davis and is also an extension of the TRA. According to the TAM, two factors,
namely the Perceived Ease-of-Use (PEOU), and the Perceived Usefulness (PU) explain the consumer’s behavior [22]. The
TAM did not integrate the subjective norms from the TRA in its structure. It was developed after the introduction of
information systems to organizations and – unlike the TRA and TPB that has roots in the field of psychology – originates
from information technology and is, therefore, less inclusive than the TRA or TPB [22].

2.3. The consumption factors of cryptocurrencies

Given the insufficient literature on the subject and previous studies on the factors governing the adoption of cryp-
tocurrencies by potential consumers, it is necessary to identify the advantages urging their acceptance and disadvantages
weighing in for their rejection. In this regard, it should be noted that the most notable attributes of the cryptocurrencies
are: international transaction at very low cost [23], high transaction speed, decentralization of the currency [14,24], 24-h
services [25,26], being out of a government’s or central bank’s control [27] and security. Furthermore, in the same vein,
much attention has been paid to the anonymity of cryptocurrency users. The technology identifies individuals by their
wallet addresses on the network [15].
Similar to any other new technology, the cryptocurrencies come with their own set of downsides, a major one being
the instability of their value [28]. Whatsmore, with ease-of-use talk being a notable factor in all technology acceptance
models [29–31], it must be noted that cryptocurrencies remain hard to work with for newbies because of their inherent
complexity. Several cases have been reported about people having lost their money due to technical problems with their
computers or the loss of their wallets [27]. In addition, given the irreversible nature of the transactions in these networks,
many have lost money because of such mistakes as keying in an incorrect amount or wallet address is very common in
transactions [32]. The next important issue is the ‘‘visibility’’ that can be defined as the extent to which people can view
the function of a system. In the case of cryptocurrencies, the function remains ambiguous to the novice user. Last but
not least, through a more comprehensive review of the literature and past research attempts, this study recognized more
factors affecting the success of cryptocurrencies. For the sake of brevity, the studies are summarized in Table 1.

3. Methodology and data collection

Data collection of this study has three steps: data collection with theoretical saturation, exploratory factor analysis,
and Friedman test. When looking at the theoretical literature shows that there are not significant studies about the
factors affecting the adoption of cryptocurrencies, study decided to extract the advantages and disadvantages of this
technology from literature.then as the first step of data collection, Using a theoretical saturation approach, the made
initial hypothesizes from the advantages and disadvantages of these currencies were completed. The theoretical saturation,
which is a widely accepted method of factors Exploration of among Initial sampling concerning a specific issue, was used.
Based on sage research methods, theoretical saturation defined as ‘‘The continuation of sampling and data collection until
no new conceptual insights are generated. At this point, the researcher has provided repeated evidence for his or her
conceptual categories’’. The premise of descriptive saturation is that the researcher finds that no new descriptive codes,
categories or themes are emerging from the analysis of data [42]. In this process, 8 factors were introduced by 21 selected
potential consumers to express their motives for the consumption of cryptocurrencies. These consumers are those who
have had information about cryptocurrencies. The question asked of them was, ‘Why do you decide for using or no using
the cryptocurrencies in future? Table 3 shows these 8 factors as theoretical saturation in the source column. These factors
have added to other 23 factors that have been extracted from the literature review in Table 1.
In the next step, to validate these factors as well as to explore a model of them, study used exploratory factor analysis
method. In this process, 520 questionnaires were distributed among the potential consumers of these currencies. Finally,
500 forms were used for analysis. The demographic information of these respondents has been shown in Table 2.
4 Y. Sobhanifard and S. Sadatfarizani / Physica A 528 (2019) 121263

Table 2
The consumption factors of cryptocurrencies.
Factors Source
1 Low an international transactions costs [13,33]
2 High transaction speed [23]
3 Benefits of the blockchain technology [24,34,35]
4 There is no sign of failure [34]
5 Security in exchanges [25,26,36]
6 Price volatility [28,37–40]
7 Social media effects
8 Privacy [5]
9 Giving users control over exchanges [15]
10 Increasing the number of minerals
11 Low mining costs [41]
12 Developing facilitating protocols
13 Wallet safety [27]
14 Cryptocurrencies are abstract [27,30,31]
15 Stripping governments of their monitoring
abilities
16 Initial testing at the lowest cost
17 Prohibition on cryptocurrency exchange [30]
18 Voluntary use
19 Social support [30]
20 Irrevocable payments
21 Allows circumventing sanctions [5]
22 Blockchain technology development [30]
23 Inadequate awareness

Table 3
Sampling demographic characteristics.
Items N %
Gender
Male 273 54.6
Female 227 45.4
Education
Ph.D. 46 9.2
Masters 229 45.9
Bachelor 216 43.1
High school 9 1.8
Age
25 – 30 178 35.5
20 – 25 168 33.6
30 – 35 95 19.1
More than 30 50 10
Less than 20 9 1.8

4. Results

4.1. Exploratory factor analysis

In this study, SPSS software EFA has employed. EFA is a multivariate interdependence method that is broadly used in
research in the field of administration, especially studies of the survey type, and it has two primary purposes. The first is to
find the minimum number of factors that contain the maximum possible amount of information contained in the original
variables used in the model. The second is to identify how indicators used empirically are configured in factors that are
not directly observed [43]. KMO test is used to evaluate the adequacy of factor analysis and the measure of sampling
adequacy or the simple in search of a substantial number of correlations above 0.3. The KMO measured for this study was
0.759, which is considered to be an adequate determination of sampling. Bartlett’s Test of sphericity was significant (p <
0.000) and supported conducting an EFA (Table 4). This test, which examines the whole correlation matrix to determine
the adequacy of factor analysis. A statistically significant Bartlett test (p < 0.05) indicates that sufficient correlations exist
between the variables to continue with the analysis. As the number of cases decreases [44].
Table 5 shows the table of communalities extraction. Principal component analysis works on the initial assumption
that all variance is common; therefore, before extraction, the communalities are all 1. The communalities in the column
labeled ‘‘Extraction’’ reflect the common variance in the data structure [43]. So, for example, we can say that 70.9% of the
variance associated with Question 1 is common, or shared, variance. Another way to look at these communalities is in
terms of the proportion of variance explained by the underlying factors. Therefore, in 5, commonalities were examined,
and it was found that no item had commonalities near 0, indicating that all items contributed to the EFA.
 Y. Sobhanifard and S. Sadatfarizani / Physica A 528 (2019) 121263 5

Table 4
Added factors for the consumption factors of cryptocurrencies by theoretical saturation process.
Factors Source
1 Blocking the assets of users in international currency exchanges Theoretical saturation
2 Traditional media effect Theoretical saturation
3 Training development of the cryptocurrencies Theoretical saturation
4 User‘s English language skill Theoretical saturation
5 User‘s knowledge of information technology Theoretical saturation
6 User‘s knowledge of the blockchain Theoretical saturation
7 Matching the performance of currencies with Islamic principles Theoretical saturation
8 Take advantage of cryptocurrencies in initial coin offering (ICO) Theoretical saturation

Table 5
KMO and Bartlett’s test.
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling
adequacy. .759
Bartlett’s test of Approx. Chi-Square 1408.8311
sphericity Df 465
Sig. .000

Table 6
Commonality matrix with loadings for each of factors.
Extraction
Low cost of an international transaction .709
High-speed transaction .650
Benefits from blockchain technology .696
There is no sign of failure .629
Exchange security .798
Blocking the assets of users in international currency exchanges .707
Lack of price stability .639
Social media effects .704
Traditional media effect .681
Privacy .539
Users control on exchanges .547
Increasing the number of minerals .794
Low mining costs .675
Developing protocols that make it easy .686
Wallet safety .649
Training development of the cryptocurrencies .614
Cryptocurrencies are not tangible .638
Government inability to monitor .635
Initial testing at the lowest cost .659
The prohibition of cryptocurrencies exchange .517
Voluntary use .604
Society Support .660
Irrevocable payments .728
User‘s English language skill .762
User‘s knowledge of information technology .831
User‘s knowledge of the blockchain .752
Ability to circumvent sanctions .708
Blockchain technology development .509
Matching the performance of currencies with Islamic principles .527
Insufficient familiarity .585
Take advantage of cryptocurrencies in ICO .694

The Kaiser Criterion indicated one factor with an eigenvalue greater than 1. Therefore, it was decided to extract three
factors in the first EFA. With concerns about loading on component (latent variable) (Table 6), the factor structure was
examined, which revealed high cross-loading on three latent variables (components). These three components were
given descriptive labels. As shown, in Table 5 component 1 includes 17 items (Social media effects Traditional media
effect, Privacy, Users control on exchanges, Low mining costs in Iran Developing protocols that make it easy, Wallet
safety, Training development of the cryptocurrencies, Government inability to monitor, Initial testing at the lowest cost
Voluntary use, Society Support, User‘s English language skill, User‘s knowledge of, the information technology, User‘s
knowledge of the blockchain, Blockchain technology development, Take advantage of cryptocurrencies in ICOs) and was
given the designation ‘‘Technological skills’’. Component 2 contains 7 items (Blocking the assets of users in international
currency exchanges, Lack of price stability, increasing the number of minerals Cryptocurrencies are not tangible, the
prohibition of cryptocurrencies exchange Irrevocable payments, Insufficient familiarity) and was given the designation
‘‘Technological ambiguity’’ and component 3 contains 7 items (Low cost of an international transaction The high-speed
6 Y. Sobhanifard and S. Sadatfarizani / Physica A 528 (2019) 121263

Table 7
Rotated component matrix.
Component
17 7 7
Low cost of an international transaction .183 −.067 .512
High-speed transaction .137 −.033 .625
Benefits from blockchain technology .148 .017 .727
There is no sign of failure .140 −.195 .660
Exchange security .009 .054 .522
Blocking the assets of users in international currency exchanges −.223 .650 −.026
Lack of price stability −.194 .626 −.171
Social media effects .492 .227 −.159
Traditional media effect .285 .221 −.123
Privacy .429 .175 .318
Users control on exchanges .459 .105 .410
Increasing the number of minerals .065 .598 .138
Low mining costs .414 −.057 .310
Developing protocols that make it easy .696 −.080 .188
Wallet safety .498 .020 .451
Training development of the cryptocurrencies .645 .038 .317
Cryptocurrencies are not tangible .320 .603 −.129
Government inability to monitor .433 .360 −.100
Initial testing at the lowest cost .518 −.034 .436
The prohibition of cryptocurrencies exchange −.056 .587 .080
Voluntary use .475 .188 .320
Society Support .634 .100 .034
Irrevocable payments −.057 .767 .035
User‘s English language skill .740 −.106 .069
User‘s knowledge of information technology .797 −.127 .121
User‘s knowledge of the blockchain .663 −.300 .124
Ability to circumvent sanctions .007 .150 .317
Blockchain technology development .650 .033 .204
Matching the performance of currencies with Islamic principles .247 .252 .324
Insufficient familiarity .137 .559 −.025
Take advantage of cryptocurrencies in ICO .511 −.021 .208

Fig. 1. Model for the consumption factors of cryptocurrencies.

transaction, Benefit from BlockChain Technology, There is no sign of failure Exchange security, Ability to circumvent
sanctions, Matching the performance of currencies with Islamic principles) and was given the designation ‘‘Technological
Advantages’’. This model for factors of the consumption of cryptocurrencies shown in Fig. 1.

4.2. Friedman test

Friedman test is a nonparametric test used to compare the mean of interdependent statistical populations. Since
this test is based on the average rating of populations, it can be used to rank related variables as populations [45].
Tables 8 and 9 show Friedman’s test results for consumption factors of cryptocurrencies. Table 7 shows the importance
 Y. Sobhanifard and S. Sadatfarizani / Physica A 528 (2019) 121263 7

Table 8
Friedman test for the consumption factors of cryptocurrencies.
Factors Mean rank Rank
Low cost of an international transaction 19.85 2
High-speed transaction 19.44 5
Benefits from blockchain technology 19.71 3
There is no sign of failure 16.38 17
Exchange security 15.88 19
Blocking the assets of users in international currency exchanges 13.85 25
Lack of price stability 13.71 26
Social media effects 17.27 12
Traditional media effect 9.27 31
Privacy 19.28 6
Users control on exchanges 19.68 4
Increasing the number of minerals 14.28 24
Low mining costs 17.23 13
Developing protocols that make it easy 17.84 9
Wallet safety 19.05 7
Training development of the cryptocurrencies 20.04 1
Cryptocurrencies are not tangible 14.87 21
Government inability to monitor 18.19 8
Initial testing at the lowest cost 16.75 16
The prohibition of cryptocurrencies exchange 10.61 29
Voluntary use 16.88 15
Society Support 14.76 22
Irrevocable payments 11.36 28
User‘s English language skill 15.13 20
User‘s knowledge of information technology 17.78 10
User‘s knowledge of the blockchain 15.96 18
Ability to circumvent sanctions 17.39 11
Blockchain technology development 16.95 14
Matching the performance of currencies with Islamic principles 11.78 27
Insufficient familiarity 10.36 30
Take advantage of cryptocurrencies in ICO 14.73 23

Table 9
Friedman test.
Test statisticsa
N 113
Chi-Square 453.523
df 30
Asymp. Sig. .000

of factors. According to Table 8, and given that the final output of the Sig of Friedman test is less than 5%, Therefore, it
can be concluded that the ranking of variables is confirmed at 95% confidence level. According to Table 7, five important
motivations for using cryptocurrencies are: training development of the cryptocurrencies, low cost of an international
transaction, benefits from blockchain technology, users control on exchanges and high-speed transaction. See Table 9.

5. Discussion

The necessity of investigating the factors of the success of cryptocurrencies is evident from several studies [2,3,6,7,11].
The present study discusses a mixed model of factors contributing to the success of cryptocurrencies based on
theoretical saturation, the exploratory factor analysis, and the Friedman test. It is worth mentioning that this approach
has never been adopted before [2,40,41,46].
In this study, the consumption factors of cryptocurrencies were extracted from the literature review and using the
theoretical saturation approach and tested in a large number of consumers (500 consumers). The results of EFA confirm
that the model can explain factors affecting the cryptocurrency usage. Indeed, it can be concluded that the EFA undertook
results in a new model in this context. The model shows that cryptocurrency usage is subject to influence by three factors:
Technological skills, Technological ambiguity, and Technological Advantages. The same three factors have a positive
relationship with the consumption of organic food, which means improving the factors promotes consumption.
The results also showed that technological skills – as the most important factor among the three – creates more
variances with 17 motivations. This is in line with expectations because the technology is at an early stage of introduction
compared with established currencies and because of underdevelopment of skills and the unpreparedness of consumers
and governments. This is the reason for technological ambiguity as to the second factor. This means that the novelty of
the technology caused ambiguity about its usage. This is consistent with technology adoption models [11,19,20,22,27,29].
8 Y. Sobhanifard and S. Sadatfarizani / Physica A 528 (2019) 121263

As evident, contrary to the expectations, the technological advantages ranked no better than third. This can be justified
by considering that the benefits are more likely to manifest themselves to the users who have grown familiar with the
technology after using it for an extended period to allow it to prove its practical value [20,22]. However, cryptocurrencies
are in the early stages of introduction in Iran and similar countries.
As far as significance is concerned, the five notable motivations for using the cryptocurrencies are cryptocurrency
development training, low-cost international transactions, benefits from blockchain technology, the users’ control over
exchanges, and high transaction speed.
Due to a lack of skills as regards the technology, cryptocurrency development training is the primary factor. Potential
users of the technology, despite being informed about it, still believe they need to improve their skills in this regard. They
want to learn more about this technology and its functions. This knowledge helps them benefit from the technology and
unharmed by its inconveniences. They also want to overcome the ambiguities associated with the learning.
As mentioned previously, ranking the second is ‘‘low international transaction costs’’. Because potential consumers
can guarantee the independence and security of their cryptocurrencies, they will accept this technology. Under these
conditions, they will be able to make transactions without government regulation and with ease. This feature is not
supported by traditional currencies.

6. Practical implications

The central banks, commercial banks, financial institutions, financial and business managers, public policymakers,
and the general public benefit from our findings and the presented model to enhance their service or life quality. The
said organizations can use the results of this study to improve their performance and capitalize on the offerings of the
technology in their future ventures. They can provide the public with the required training before unexpected financial
problems arise. Moreover, organizations can become more successful in managing their communication with the help of
the results of this study.
In addition, encouraging consumers to use cryptocurrencies based on the proposed model and priorities will be
beneficial to the firms and will enable them to manage their resources more efficiently.
Cryptocurrency gives its users the opportunity of managing one’s own cryptocurrencies asset portfolio as a democratic
ecosystem. The results of this study, by promoting the use of cryptocurrencies, can lead to more transparency in
transactions because the blockchain technology allows all transactions to be monitored in full transparency.
As regards public policy, several policymakers are trying to control cryptocurrencies because of their potential use for
illegal activities, such as arms, terrorist equipment, and drug trafficking. They also can benefit from the results of this
study. In this regard, the policymaker can arrange for suitable measures to prepare and educate the public.
Finally, public policy makers, financial firms, and other stakeholders will be informed of the motivations and concerns
about cryptocurrency users. Based on the results of this study and by replicating it for other countries, the stakeholders
can implement the necessary solutions to manage the discussed factors.

7. Research limitations and future directions

Similar to any other attempt at research, this study has its limitations. The respondents were selected from citizens
of only one country, and given the novelty of the technology and the strangeness of the general public to the subject,
samples were difficult to find. Whatsmore, many people were not willing to answer the questions, since the exchange
of cryptocurrency is banned in Iran, which made it quite difficult to access people who used the technology. Another
shortcoming of the study was that it mainly focused on Bitcoin, as the most well-known cryptocurrency in Iran. Therefore,
it is recommended to replicate the methodology adopted in this study in other developing countries where the use of
cryptocurrencies is not prohibited and also to include other cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, given the said limitations
about the respondents and informed individuals, this study did not address the role of social networks in the acceptance
of cryptocurrencies. Accordingly, this study recommends future research to be focused on the impact of social media on
the use of cryptocurrencies.

8. Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors promoting the use of cryptocurrencies. The study discovered
the essentially behavioral aspect of cryptocurrency usage in developing countries and derived the factors encouraging
the use of these currencies regardless of their relation to other variables. The study focused on recognizing factors
affecting the adoption of cryptocurrencies from the user’s point of view. According to the findings, thirty-one factors affect
cryptocurrency usage. The results revealed that the central banks in developing countries, commercial banks, financial
institutions, financial and business managers, public policymakers, and even the general public can capitalize on the
discussed factors. This study also explored a model developed based on the EFA that confirmed the positive effect of three
factors on the level of cryptocurrency usage, namely the technological skills, technological ambiguity, and technological
advantages.
 Y. Sobhanifard and S. Sadatfarizani / Physica A 528 (2019) 121263 9

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