Abstract
Digital currencies represent a new method for exchange - a payment method with no physical form, made real by the Internet. This new type of currency was created to ease online transactions and to provide greater convenience in making payments. However, a critical component of a monetary system is the people who use it. Acknowledging this, we present results of our interview study (N=20) with two groups of participants (users and non-users) about how they perceive the most popular digital currency, Bitcoin. Our results reveal: non-users mistakenly believe they are incapable of using Bitcoin, users are not well-versed in how the protocol functions, they have misconceptions about the privacy of transactions, and that Bitcoin satisfies properties of ideal payment systems as defined by our participants. Our results illustrate Bitcoin's tradeoffs, its uses, and barriers to entry.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | CHI 2016 - Proceedings, 34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems |
| Publisher | ACM |
| Pages | 1656-1668 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781450333627 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 May 2016 |
| MoE publication type | A4 Conference publication |
| Event | International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction - San Jose, United States Duration: 7 May 2016 → 12 May 2016 https://chi2016.acm.org/wp/ |
Publication series
| Name | Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings |
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Conference
| Conference | International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | CHI 2016 |
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | San Jose |
| Period | 07/05/2016 → 12/05/2016 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- Bitcoin
- Crypto-currency
- Digital currency
- Interview study