Can cryptocurrency, mobile phones, and internet herald sustainable financial sector development in emerging markets?

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between cryptocurrency, internet, mobile phones, financial inclusion, and financial sector development in China, India, Nigeria, and South Africa for the period 2009–2017 using fully modified ordinary least square (FM-OLS) and causality analysis. The empirical results show that cryptocurrency, internet usage, and mobile subscriptions have a significant positive relationship with financial inclusion and financial sector development, suggesting that countries with higher levels of cryptocurrency, internet usage, and mobile subscriptions have higher levels of financial inclusion and financial sector development. This finding is further buttressed by the causality analysis which shows that cryptocurrency, internet usage, and mobile subscriptions cause financial inclusion and financial sector development in the four countries.