IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aae/journl/v18y2022i4p45-77.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cryptocurrencies as a subject of financial fraud

Author

Listed:
  • MaÅ‚gorzata Kutera

    (PhD., Assistant Professor at the Jagiellonian University, Institute of Economics, Finance and Management, Prof. S. Å ojasiewicza 4, 30-348 Krakow, Poland)

Abstract

PURPOSE: The main purpose of this paper was to identify the current scope of research on cryptocurrencies as a subject of fraud. Detailed research questions related to the determination of contemporary trends of the conducted research and the definition of potential opportunities for further investigation of this topic. One of the questions also concerned identifying the most common crimes committed using cryptocurrencies. METHODOLOGY: The study is based on a systematic literature review (SLR) of 57 publications available on the Scopus database. A bibliometric and descriptive analysis of selected literature items was carried out. Then, vital thematic clusters were separated, and an in-depth content analysis was performed. FINDINGS: The detailed bibliometric and descriptive analysis showed that cryptocurrencies as a subject of financial fraud are generally a new area of scientific research, although it is developing quite intensively. The relatively small number of publications, compared to other similar areas, also indicates that this topic has not yet been explored widely by scientists, and many different research trends can be created in it. Ultimately, the following key research areas were identified: types of cryptocurrency fraud, crime detection methods, risks related to blockchain technology, money laundering, and legal regulations regarding cryptocurrencies. It was also possible to identify that money laundering is currently the most common fraud. However, it has been pointed out that the second most frequent fraud is financial pyramids based on the Ponzi scheme. IMPLICATIONS: The paper clearly presents the main research trends on using cryptocurrencies in criminal activities. At the same time, it was emphasized that, compared to other research areas, this topic is relatively new. Therefore, there is a wide possibility of exploring not only existing but also undiscovered research trends. In addition, key types of fraud in economic practice have been identified, which is particularly important for financial market participants. It was clearly indicated which transactions bear the highest risk. It is also worth paying attention to the critical timeliness of the topic, as the scale of crimes involving cryptocurrencies has recently been growing rapidly. The study confirms the insufficient scope of legal regulations, which are not able to strengthen the security of economic transactions adequately. Therefore, it can be a clear indication for the governments of individual countries or international institutions for further efficient changes to the law. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: The contribution of this study is threefold. It is one of the first research papers showing the results of a systematic literature review (SLR) combined with a bibliographic and in-depth analysis of the content of publications in this field. During the work, the VOSviewer software was also used, which enabled objective identification of the main thematic clusters based on the occurrences and link strength of keywords included in the publications. Secondly, the key types of fraud have been identified that, at the same time, cause the most significant financial loss. This allowed for the establishing of directions for further research, which have profound practical implications for market participants. Some of them relate to the need to develop and implement modern computer applications, allowing for the detection of a wider range of emerging abuses.

Suggested Citation

  • MaÅ‚gorzata Kutera, 2022. "Cryptocurrencies as a subject of financial fraud," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 18(4), pages 45-77.
    • Handle: RePEc:aae:journl:v:18:y:2022:i:4:p:45-77
    DOI: 10.7341/20221842
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://jemi.edu.pl/uploadedFiles/file/all-issues/vol18/issue4/JEMI_Vol18_Issue4_2022_Article2.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.7341/20221842?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Helmut Stix, 2021. "Ownership and purchase intention of crypto-assets: survey results," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 65-99, February.
    2. Gaur, Ajai & Kumar, Mukesh, 2018. "A systematic approach to conducting review studies: An assessment of content analysis in 25years of IB research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 280-289.
    3. Jana Schmitz & Giulia Leoni, 2019. "Accounting and Auditing at the Time of Blockchain Technology: A Research Agenda," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 29(2), pages 331-342, June.
    4. repec:srs:journl:jarle:v:9:y:2018:i:1:p:119-126 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Hughes, Alex & Park, Andrew & Kietzmann, Jan & Archer-Brown, Chris, 2019. "Beyond Bitcoin: What blockchain and distributed ledger technologies mean for firms," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 273-281.
    6. James R. Barth & Hemantha S. B. Herath & Tejaswini C. Herath & Pei Xu, 2020. "Cryptocurrency valuation and ethics: a text analytic approach," Journal of Management Analytics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 367-388, July.
    7. Elena KIRILLOVA & Albert PAVLYUK & Irina MIKHAYLOVA & Teymur ZULFUGARZADE & Sergey ZENIN, 2018. "Bitcoin Lifecoin Namecoin The Legal Nature of Virtual Currency," Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, ASERS Publishing, vol. 9(1), pages 119-126.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Amzuică Bogdan-Florian & Mititelu Roxana-Adriana & Nișulescu Ileana, 2023. "Digitalization of Business – Implications on Tax Evasion Dimensions," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 17(1), pages 1888-1896, July.
    2. Christoph Wronka, 2024. "Crypto-asset regulatory landscape: a comparative analysis of the crypto-asset regulation in the UK and Germany," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(4), pages 417-426, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marco Bellucci & Damiano Cesa Bianchi & Giacomo Manetti, 2021. "A literature review on blockchain in accounting research," Working Papers - Business wp2021_04.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    2. Ishtiaq Ahmad Bajwa & Shafiq Ur Rehman & Abid Iqbal & Zaheer Anwer & Murtaza Ashiq & Muhammad Ajmal Khan, 2022. "Past, Present and Future of FinTech Research: A Bibliometric Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.
    3. Han, Hongdan & Shiwakoti, Radha K. & Jarvis, Robin & Mordi, Chima & Botchie, David, 2023. "Accounting and auditing with blockchain technology and artificial Intelligence: A literature review," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    4. Akter, Mohsina & Kummer, Tyge-F. & Yigitbasioglu, Ogan, 2024. "Looking beyond the hype: The challenges of blockchain adoption in accounting," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    5. de Villiers, Charl & Kuruppu, Sanjaya & Dissanayake, Dinithi, 2021. "A (new) role for business – Promoting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals through the internet-of-things and blockchain technology," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 598-609.
    6. Nur Ain Shahrier & Jessica Sze Yin Ho & Sanjaya Singh Gaur, 2020. "Ownership concentration, board characteristics and firm performance among Shariah-compliant companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 24(2), pages 365-388, June.
    7. Marina Dabić & Jane Maley & Leo-Paul Dana & Ivan Novak & Massimiliano M. Pellegrini & Andrea Caputo, 2020. "Pathways of SME internationalization: a bibliometric and systematic review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 705-725, October.
    8. Daniela Balutel & Christopher Henry & Jorge Vásquez & Marcel Voia, 2022. "Bitcoin adoption and beliefs in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(4), pages 1729-1761, November.
    9. Cristina Oneț & Dana Georgeta Alexandru, 2023. "Revenues Sharing in Mineral Exploration: Local Authorities’ Incentives towards Economic Diversification in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Freixanet, Joan, 2022. "Export promotion programs: A system-based systematic review and agenda for future research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(4).
    11. Bruno Michel Roman Pais Seles & Janaina Mascarenhas & Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour & Adriana Hoffman Trevisan, 2022. "Smoothing the circular economy transition: The role of resources and capabilities enablers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1814-1837, May.
    12. Kathleen M. Bakarich & John “Jack” Castonguay & Patrick E. O'Brien, 2020. "The Use of Blockchains to Enhance Sustainability Reporting and Assurance†," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 389-412, December.
    13. Svetlana Abramova & Rainer Böhme & Helmut Elsinger & Helmut Stix & Martin Summer, 2022. "What can CBDC designers learn from asking potential users? Results from a survey of Austrian residents (Svetlana Abramova, Rainer Böhme, Helmut Elsinger, Helmut Stix, Martin Summer)," Working Papers 241, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    14. Khalid Ahmed Al-Ansari & Ahmet Faruk Aysan, 2021. "More than ten years of Blockchain creation: How did we use the technology and which direction is the research heading? [Plus de dix ans de création Blockchain : Comment avons-nous utilisé la techno," Working Papers hal-03343048, HAL.
    15. de Camargo Fiorini, Paula & Roman Pais Seles, Bruno Michel & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Barberio Mariano, Enzo & de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes, 2018. "Management theory and big data literature: From a review to a research agenda," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 112-129.
    16. Anil Nair & Mehdi Sharifi Khobdeh & Aydin Oksoy & Orhun Guldiken & Chris H. Willis, 2023. "A review of strategic management research on India," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 1341-1392, December.
    17. Maurizio Massaro & Francesca Dal Mas & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour & Carlo Bagnoli, 2020. "Crypto‐economy and new sustainable business models: Reflections and projections using a case study analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2150-2160, September.
    18. Bahoo, Salman & Hassan, M. Kabir, 2019. "A model of the Islamic sovereign wealth fund," Islamic Economic Studies, The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), vol. 27, pages 2-22.
    19. Alaassar, Ahmad & Mention, Anne-Laure & Aas, Tor Helge, 2021. "Exploring a new incubation model for FinTechs: Regulatory sandboxes," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    20. Aguilera, Ruth V. & Crespí-Cladera, Rafel & Infantes, Paula M. & Pascual-Fuster, Bartolomé, 2020. "Business groups and internationalization: Effective identification and future agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aae:journl:v:18:y:2022:i:4:p:45-77. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Anna Ujwary-Gil (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://fundacjacognitione.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.