Investigating the Investment Behaviors in Cryptocurrency

Abstract

This article investigates the socio-demographic characteristics that individual cryptocurrency investors exhibit and the factors that go into their investment decisions in different Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). We conducted a web-based revealed preference survey among Australian and Chinese blockchain and cryptocurrency followers, and applied a Multinomial Logit model to inferentially analyze the characteristics of cryptocurrency investors and the determinants of their choice of investment in “cryptocurrency coins” versus other types of ICO tokens. The results showed differences in the determinant of these two choices among Australian and Chinese cryptocurrency folks. The significant factors of these two choices included age, gender, education, occupation, and investment experience, and they aligned well with the behavioral literature. Furthermore, in addition to differences in how they ranked the attributes of ICOs, there was further variance between how Chinese and Australian investors ranked deterrence factors and investment strategies.

TOPICS: Currency, emerging markets

Key Findings

• • The significant factors of the choice of investment in cryptocurrency include age, gender, education, occupation, and previous investment experience.

• • Chinese and Australian investors rank the ICO attributes differently.

• • The deterrence factors and investment strategies vary between Chinese and Australians.