The Association of Cryptocurrency and the Use of Alternative Financial Services

Abstract

Alternative financial services (AFS) have been studied in recent years in terms of how these financialmarkets are utilized. The products and services include check cashing, pawnshop loans, payday advanceloans, electronic cash transmissions, tax refund anticipation arrangements, rent-to-own contracts, prepaiddebit cards, gift cards, and loans collateralized by automobile titles. Cryptocurrency has become part ofthis AFS ecology. The 2023 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking collected informationon AFS use, including the use of cryptocurrency as an AFS. This research answered the questions: a) Dousers of cryptocurrencies for AFS also tend to use them for investments; b) do users of cryptocurrencies tomake payments tend to use them for other AFS purposes, and c) do users of cryptocurrencies to sendmoney to friends and family tend to use them for other AFS purposes?