ANALYSIS OF FACTORS INFLUENCING INVESTMENT DECISION IN CRYPTOCURRENCIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MANGALORE CITY OF KARNATAKA - AN INVESTORS PERSPECTIVE

Cryptocurrencies have taken the finance world by storm and emerged as global payment tokens in the emerging area of decentralized finance and also as investment avenues of great interest among investors, especially during and post-Covid times.Cryptocurrency or a crypto is a collection of binary data which is designed to work as a medium of exchange. However, today cryptocurrency has taken many forms and derived different utilities. With cryptocurrency being at the centre of decentralised financing, various forms of new / modern decentralised financing avenues have opened up. A cryptocurrency can be used as a form of digital currency, as cash to pay for the purchase of everyday items, to purchase of large items such as buildings, cars etc. It can be bought through several digital wallets or through trading platforms like WazirX, CoinSwitch, CoinDCX, etc., Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies are treated as property or investment avenues as well in several countries. In India, mostly crypto is treated as an investment avenue similar in functionality that of a share.Though crypto is a buzz-word in finance world these days, there are a lot of uncertainties involved with it when it comes to its regulation, taxation and volatility, etc. Thus, in this paper an attempt is made to understand the factors which influences the investors to invest in cryptocurrencies.