Cryptocurrencies are becoming ubiquitous in a multitude of online and real-world settings.These include use by NGOs to avoid the censorship and control of authoritarian regimes, by countries wondering about its utility in a cashless world like India or China, and in developed economies like the US where until recently it could be used to leverage certain tax loopholes. Nevertheless, what do we know about the individual tendency to adopt CC? Given its growth globally, it warrants further attention from a micro-perspective. In our work, we shed light on the individual-level personality factors and individual values that could indict a propensity to gravitate towards the use of CC. We utilize the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a base and integrate it with personality traits (the “Big 5†model) and values (Schwartz’s Universal Values Framework) that may contribute or take away from acceptance of CC. We also incorporate exogenous factors (namely, social influence and media coverage) and thus set forth a conceptual model that explains the attitudes towards CC and intention to adopt the same.We lay out arguments to show that the “perceived usefulness of CC†and “perceived ease of use of CC†are positively related to “attitude towards CC†which in turn leads to “intent to use CC†which finally results in “actual usage of CCâ€. We discuss these relationships in light of a multitude of moderating factors. Our resultant conceptual model of 15 propositional relationships is thus in-depth and provides greater insight for researchers and practitioners when it comes to CC use.
