The dark sıde of cryptocurrency markets: an integrated bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Purpose- The aim of this study is to reveal the publications that shed light on the dark side of the cryptocurrency markets with a systematic approach. Methodology- For this purpose, 369 publications in the Scopus database between 2014-2022 were determined as samples. In the publications provided by the database, the keywords "cryptocurrency" and "fraud", "scam", "phishing", "ponzi", "crime" were scanned over the publication title, abstract and keywords, and an integrated bibliometric analysis was employed. The R program was used in the analysis, and the "Biblioshiny" application in the RStudio program was employed to visualize the findings. Findings- The analysis reveals that the number of publications, the number of citations and the interest in the field have increased especially in recent years. The rate of increase in the number of publications in the field and the fact that most of these publications are at the stage of notification have shown that the field is an important developing field. The most intense interest in the field has been shown from universities in China. On the other hand, it was seen that the most interest in the field was from computer sciences and the interest of journals in the field of finance remained weak. It has been determined that the topics that may attract attention in the future are digital forensics, digital assets, fraudulent cryptocurrencies, corruption prevention, mining and cyber attacks. Conclusion- The study reveals the evolution of the dark side of cryptocurrency markets in academic research. The findings provide researchers interested in the field with the opportunity to explore themes and issues that may be on the agenda in the future. Keywords: Cryptocurrency, fraud, ponzi, crime, bibliometric analysis JEL Codes: G11, G19