Who buys Bitcoin? The cultural determinants of Bitcoin activity

Sean Foley, Bart Frijns, Alexandre Garel and Tai-Yong Roh

International Review of Financial Analysis, 2022, vol. 84, issue C

Abstract: We examine the relationship between national culture and a country's Bitcoin activity. Given that Bitcoin is a high-risk currency/investment that is frequently used for illegal purposes and whose market is relatively opaque, we focus on the cultural dimension of individualism, which has been related to financial market participation, risk-taking behavior, and overconfidence. Using unique data that includes the originating country for Bitcoin transactions, we examine the relationship between individualism and a country's Bitcoin activity for a sample of 80 countries between 2009 and 2020. We find a significant and positive relationship between a country's individualism and its use of Bitcoin consistent with cultural values affecting the demand for such high-risk currency/investments.

Keywords: National culture; Individualism; Bitcoin; Cryptocurrency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G10 G15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:finana:v:84:y:2022:i:c:s1057521922003350

DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2022.102385

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