Perceived risk and regulatory clarity as drivers of investor trust and satisfaction in cryptocurrency investment decisions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Perceived risk and regulatory clarity as drivers of investor trust and satisfaction in cryptocurrency investment decisions Akash Shashikant Jain This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7346340/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The study proposes the Crypto Trust Formation (CTF) Model as a multidisciplinary framework addressing how perceived financial, security, and compliance risks impact investor trust and satisfaction in a crypto ecosystem context. Leveraging behavioral finance and extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Perceived Risk Framework (PRF), the study analyzes 385 cryptocurrency investors using PLS-SEM. Findings indicate all three risk dimensions significantly lower trust and, paradoxically, investment satisfaction. Additionally, clarity in regulations was found to mitigate the perceived financial and regulatory risk (but not security risk) as it pertains to trust, demonstrating key boundary conditions for technological risk. Mediation analysis show trust to be a partial mediator between the risk perceptions and satisfaction. This study forms and validates the crypto trust formation model, thus, advancing the theory by describing trust as an emergent property in decentralized systems as multi-layered, contextually and institutionally driven. The model also provides cryptocurrency platform developers, investors, and regulatory bodies practical guidance to build investor commitment. JEL Classification: G41 (Behavioural Finance: Investment Strategies) Cryptocurrency Perceived Risk Investor Trust Regulatory Clarity Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) Investor Satisfaction Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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