Crypto-assets are unique in tying financial wealth to the secrecy of private keys. Prior empirical work has attempted to study end-user security from both technical and organizational perspectives. However, the link between individual’s risk perceptions and security behavior was often obscured by the heterogeneity of the subjects in small samples. In a collaboration with the researchers from University of Innsbruck, Artemij Voskobojnikov, a PhD candidate in my research group, has conducted a survey of 395 crypto-asset users to discover three distinct types of such users.
Our analysis accounts for heterogeneity with a new typology that partitions the sample in three robust clusters – cypherpunks, hodlers, and rookies, – using five psychometric constructs. The constructs originate from established behavioral theories with items purposefully adapted to the domain. We demonstrate the utility of this typology in better understanding users’ characteristics and security behaviors. These insights inform the design of crypto-asset solutions, guide risk communication, and suggest recommendations for future digital currencies.
To learn more, watch the presentation of study or read the paper.
Abramova, S., Voskobojnikov, A., Beznosov, K., & Böhme, R., “Bits Under the Mattress: Understanding Different Risk Perceptions and Security Behaviors of Crypto-Asset Users,” In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
