Cryptocurrency awareness, acceptance, and adoption: the role of trust as a cornerstone

Cryptocurrencies—i.e., digital or virtual currencies secured by cryptography based on blockchain technology, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum—have brought transformative changes to the global economic landscape. These innovative transaction methods have rapidly made their mark in the financial sector, reshaping the dynamics of the global economy. However, there remains a notable hesitation in its widespread acceptance and adoption, largely due to misconceptions and lack of proper guidance about its use. Such gaps in understanding create an opportunity to address these concerns. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study develops a parsimonious model to explain the awareness, acceptance, and adoption of cryptocurrency. The model was assessed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with a sample of 332 participants aged 18 to 40 years. The findings suggest that cryptocurrency awareness plays a direct, positive, and significant role in shaping cryptocurrency adoption and that this positive relationship is mediated by factors that exemplify cryptocurrency acceptance, namely the ease of use and usefulness of cryptocurrency. The results also reveal that trust is a significant factor that strengthens these direct and mediating relationships. These insights emphasize the necessity of fostering an informed understanding of cryptocurrencies to accelerate their broader adoption in the financial ecosystem. By addressing the misconceptions and reinforcing factors like ease of use, usefulness, and trust, policymakers and financial institutions can better position themselves to integrate and promote cryptocurrency in mainstream financial systems.