A Bibliometric Analysis of Cryptocurrency Research in Economics and Finance: Emerging Trends and Future Directions

Abstract

Over the past decade, cryptocurrencies have attracted growing scholarly interest, leading to a proliferation of publications across various fields such as computer science, engineering, economics, finance, law, and regulation. This article aims to conduct an in-depth bibliometric analysis of the academic literature on cryptocurrencies within the fields of economics and finance, identifying key research trends, influential contributors, highly cited sources, and the conceptual structure of the domain.

In response to the exponential growth in the number of publications, we adopt a bibliometric approach to effectively organize and analyze a large corpus of academic work. The analysis covers 1083 articles published between 2012 and 2022, drawn from the Web of Science Core Collection and classified under the economics and finance categories. To process and visualize the data, we use VOSviewer software, which generates scientific maps based on bibliographic metadata and textual information.

This method enables the mapping of author networks, international collaborations, keywords, and citation structures. The results provide a comprehensive overview of cryptocurrency-related research dynamics, highlighting dominant themes, the most influential publications, and potential research gaps. This study thus offers a valuable foundation for scholars seeking to understand the evolution of the field, identify major contributions, and guide future investigations.

Classification JEL : E42, G11, G12, G14, G18, O33, C88.

Paper type : Theoretical Research