Characterization of the Perceived Risk in the Use of Cryptocurrencies. A Literature Review

Abstract

Cryptocurrencies have established themselves as a topic of discussion in the academic and professional field. This work aims to characterize the perceived risk in the use of cryptocurrencies; for which, a review of academic literature is carried out in articles indexed in Scopus. For this purpose, a search equation is proposed, which includes words related to cryptocurrencies; as well as categories or terms that include perceived risk and related constructs such as technological acceptance. The approach to perceived risk is based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA); with which it is intended to understand and explain the use of a technology in different environments and places through the analysis of people’s behavior. Twenty-four documents were found on which the review was carried out; although well, the ten most influential were selected to deepen their characterization, using the number of citations received as a criterion. This characterization is based on a table that allows identifying some important metadata such as the author, the year, the document and the journal; as well as an extract of content that allows to account for its approach to the perceived risk. From the above, a theoretical discussion is carried out, where the findings are integrated with other theoretical references. In the end, it is concluded that, although the perceived risk is an important category of analysis; It is also key to address other factors that induce the adoption of technology, such as the perceived usefulness of use.