Abstract
Previous studies showed that a number of factors play roles in influencing Bitcoin penetration and acceptance, both at country and individual level, such as trust, perceived risk, security threat, perceived benefit, perceived ease of use, as well as macro-technological and socioeconomic factors. This present study aimed at finding theoretical models at the macro- and microlevels that are able to explain the penetration and acceptance. Study 1 examined hypotheses on the predictive relationship between national cultural orientation and Bitcoin penetration involving 60 countries. Study 2, using a construal level perspective, tested the predictive strength of psychological distances against Bitcoin acceptance, involving 565 Indonesians ( Mage= 28.88 years, SDage= 12.482 years). The results showed that national culture of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation are able to predict the penetration. Spatial/physical distance, social distance, and hypothetical distance are able to predict the acceptance. This research is pivotal in obtaining the fundamental factors of community vulnerability in accepting and endorsing new e-money, i.e. Bitcoin. Monetary policy is expected to consider cultural and psychological factors in intervening against economic–technological disruptive innovations developing among societies.
Highlights
Digital/virtual currency (Bitcoin, in this present study) does not correspond with fiat/“real” money but increasingly can be used to buy real or virtual items or services
The contribution of this study is to find cultural and psychological factors that influence economic behavior, namely, Bitcoin penetration and acceptance at the level of nation and individual
Prohibiting the use of Bitcoin on the basis of economic argument and security is inadequate, but it might be necessary to increase the psychological distances of society against Bitcoin when assuming that Bitcoin is unfavorable for the development of society
Summary
Digital/virtual currency (Bitcoin, in this present study) does not correspond with fiat/“real” money but increasingly can be used to buy real or virtual items or services. SAGE Open psychological excitement toward innovative transaction methods and the possibilities of new investment speculations, despite the risks; and (c) as the path toward the convergence of everyday life with virtuality (Sauer, 2016). Based on those facts, Sauer (2016) recommended that “the most important task ahead for central banks is to observe the growing influence of virtual currencies and collect data on their acceptance . The attention of this matter would decide the anticipation actions of central banks to regulate inflation and maintain the price stability based on its capabilities that are predicted to be limited to control the money supply. Henry, Huynh, and Nicholls (2017, p. 18) were true when stating, “Understanding the composition of . . . types of users would be important for better understanding of the future of digital currency use.”
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