Potential use of bitcoin in b2c e-commerce

Abstract

Bitcoin is a new digital currency with a very high visibility in media and research. Therefore, different aspects of potentials of Bitcoin are explored. In a prior investigation, several manifest indicators like transaction velocity have been identified as important influencing factors for the perceived use of digital currency. The focus of this paper is an empirical study, which examines factors of the potential use of Bitcoin in a B2C E-Commerce environment. More than 100 online merchants were interviewed in 2016. Based on a structural equation model (SEM), the results of the analysis show that the low transaction costs and acceptance are the main factors that influence the potential benefits of Bitcoin in B2C E-Commerce. The study also gives ideas for the relevance of further indicators.