Abstract
Money, a fundamental societal element facilitating goods and services exchange, has evolved from the physical to the digital realm, notably with the rise of decentralized cryptographic peer-to-peer networks. Bitcoin is a leading cryptocurrency and has garnered increasing adoption as a legitimate form of currency. However, peer-reviewed literature often combines Bitcoin with other cryptocurrencies, leaving a gap in understanding its unique impact. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to summarize individual and societal use cases of bitcoin exclusively. This review uses the Arksey and O’Malley framework. The search strategy involved databases such as Web of Science and Engineering Village, yielding 977 titles, of which 69 were fully analyzed, and 16 studies (published between 2016-2023) were included. We found investment and savings to be the primary use case with limited unique cases such as donations or Point-of-Sale use. The reported demographic use was mostly men. On a societal level, only 1 case was identified in El Salvador but various limitations were presented. The predominant focus of individual use cases has been on Western nations. Bitcoin is a new monetary system that is being reported as an investment and savings instrument. Currently, the adoption of Bitcoin is not widespread in its use but new technical layers like the Lightning Network could increase more adoption and use cases. Individual and country adoption might increase as current financial systems are strained and need a digitally scarce monetary network.
Presenters
Poornima GoudarStudent, Bachelors of Science, McMaster University , Ontario, Canada Emma Apatu
Faculty, Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Money, Bitcoin, Adoption, Use Cases
