What is driving consumer resistance to crypto-payment? A multianalytical investigation

Despite the extensive interest in cryptocurrencies over the past years, their application as a means of payment in e-commerce and retail purchases continues to be much slower than anticipated. This paper investigates the underlying mechanisms and elements that drive consumer resistance in this space. Drawing upon the stimulus-organism-response paradigm and the innovation resistance theory, the paper explores how the characteristics of the current cryptocurrency landscape contribute to different factors associated with crypto-payment rejection. Our findings from empirical and experimental studies reveal how ecosystem volatility and the lack of structural assurances for cryptocurrencies foster negative consumer perceptions, leading to resistance against crypto-payment use. The paper develops new insights into the main predictors of consumer resistance to crypto-payment, which is a precursor to the mainstream use of cryptocurrencies. Moreover, it sheds light on the interactions among context-specific, psychological, and functional determinants of behavioral consumer response.