Benefit and risk perceived as determinants of the use of cryptocurrencies in Modeling of Structural Equations

Abstract

The most well-known cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. It has become popular quickly in Brazil and in the world. Currently, Bitcoin exceeds in Brazil the double of users in relation to the investment in the stock market. In recent years, many new crypto-coins have been developed, such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, VeChain, Neo, Lisk, Binance, Monero, among others. All of them employ blockchain technology. This research aims to analyze the benefits and risks perceived by users as determinants of the use of crypto coins in Brazil. Prospects for advancement in blockchain technology are very large. This research uses as a theoretical background the Technology Acceptance Model, strongly inspired by the statistical modeling of Abramova and Bohme (2016), with the inclusion of theoretical constructs: Perceived Benefit, Perceived Use Ease, Perceived Risk. These constructs aim to explain the endogenous construct Possibility and Use Behavior and significant determinants, using the multivariate statistical method of modeling Structural Equations. The results demonstrate that the benefit perceived by the individual is the main factor that positively influences the users of cryptocurrency. In addition, the risks perceived by the individuals were not significant for the results, divergent than expected, from the determinants financial losses, legal risk and operational risk.