Cryptocurrency usage preference in economy: Siirt University example

In this study, after explaining the concept of money and its historical development, analysis and research were conducted about digital currencies, Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, which we have heard frequently in recent years. Cryptocurrency wallets, privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies, mining and countries' digital currency studies and countries' approaches to cryptocurrencies are within the scope of the study. Although the rapidly developing cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology are not yet legally accepted by many countries or central banks, but people are adopting them as an economic investment tool. According to the data obtained from the Google web search, Siirt and its surrounding provinces are in the first place in the ranking of the most done searched cities regarding cryptocurrencies in our country. This study was carried out to investigate why our people in the region move away from conventional investment tools and turn to crypto money investments that have no physical equivalent and to measure their perception levels. Approximately 1,187 people work at Siirt University. In accordance with the purpose of the study, 225 people who heard and used cryptocurrencies were reached and a survey was conducted with them. Those who said they did not hear, did not use were not included in the study. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Test, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0 and IBM AMOS program were used for statistical analysis. 38.7% of the respondents stated that they have only heard of cryptocurrencies, and 61.3% have heard/used. 83.6% of the participants stated that they heard/use Bitcoin the most. 57.3% of the participants heard about cryptocurrencies for the first time from their friends. Again, 42.2% of the investors stated that they thought that investing in cryptocurrencies was not harmful in terms of religion, and 16.4% stated that they found it objectionable in terms of religion. Cryptocurrencies have been compared to the stock market by 66.2% as a type of investment. The majority of the participants stated that they bought cryptocurrencies to keep them for a long time. 88.4% of the respondents answered that they prefer to use cash instead of digital payment systems in their spending. As the reasons for this situation; It is thought that cryptocurrencies are mostly new, technological infrastructures are insufficient and cryptocurrencies are not yet adopted by many segments. Participants stated that cryptocurrencies bring a new perspective to the world of economy, that cryptocurrencies will be used in many workplaces in the future, and that Blockchain technology is a great innovation. Despite stating that investing in cryptocurrencies is very risky, the majority of respondents consider continuing to use cryptocurrencies in the future. It should be noted that the cryptocurrency markets move quite fast and they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, it should not be forgotten that crypto money markets are open to speculation due to their sensitive nature, they are not subject to any legal regulation and arbitrary practices can be made by exchanges in crypto money markets. There is a risk that investors' money will be reset, especially in margin trading. For this reason, it is recommended that those who do not have experience should enter the crypto money markets with low amounts and stay away from margin trading.