Unravelling the global landscape of Bitcoin research: insights from bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Bitcoin has been gaining increasing attention in academia and industry. This article investigates Bitcoin’s research status and evolution via bibliometrics using a dataset of 3,873 publications between 2012 and 2022 from the Web of Science Core Collection. The findings reveal a significant increase in research on Bitcoin since 2017, coinciding with the cryptocurrency bull market. The article identifies publication trends, influential contributors, collaboration networks, and topics evolution in Bitcoin research. The three Bitcoin research stages are conceptualisation and fundamentals of Bitcoin (2012–2016), cryptocurrency and market efficiency (2017–2018), and technical analysis, big data, data privacy, and the connection between Bitcoin and financial markets (2019–2022). The four prominent emerging areas for future Bitcoin research are decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), clean energy and mining, and monetary policy. The article offers valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, facilitating a better understanding of the status quo of Bitcoin research.