Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16518
Authors: Raphael Auer; David Tercero-Lucas
Abstract: Employing representative data from the U.S. Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, we disprove the hypothesis that cryptocurrency investors are motivatedby distrust in fiat currencies or regulated finance. Compared with the general population, investors show no differences in their level of security concerns with either cash or commercial banking services. We find that cryptocurrency investors tend to be educated, young and digital natives. In recent years, a gap in ownership of cryptocurrencies across genders has emerged. We examine how investor characteristics vary across cryptocurrencies and show that owners of cryptocurrencies increasingly tend to hold their investment for longer periods.
Keywords: digital currencies; cryptocurrencies; distributed ledger technology; blockchain; payments; digitalisation; banking; household finance; money; bitcoin
JEL Codes: D14; D91; E42; G11; G12; G28; O33
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| higher educational attainment (I23) | knowledge about cryptocurrencies (E42) |
| being male (J79) | knowledge about cryptocurrencies (E42) |
| being younger (J13) | knowledge about cryptocurrencies (E42) |
| age (J14) | cryptocurrency ownership (E42) |
| digitalization (L86) | knowledge about cryptocurrencies (E42) |
| higher education levels (I23) | cryptocurrency investment (G11) |
| higher income levels (D31) | cryptocurrency investment (G11) |
| being married (J12) | cryptocurrency ownership (E42) |
| distrust in traditional financial systems (P34) | cryptocurrency demand (E42) |