The Decision-making Process and Bitcoin : How millennials' perception of what is trustworthy, useful, and safe is changing.

Abstract: Background: Money has changed many forms throughout human history. About anything has served as money, sea snails, salt, and stones. Money is valuable as long as we believe in its value and are willing to exchange this money for goods and services; it can therefore be viewed as a part of a social convention that changes forms as the way of communication evolves. One of the common trends that have been taking place in social patterns is the increasing gaps between different generations, a particular one being the decrease in financial literacy for every new generation since the silent generation. Moreover, lower levels of financial literacy have been identified with increased indebtedness, lower savings, and increased risk-taking. A negative trend taking place during a time when the economic environment is becoming increasingly complex. Something that has added to the complexity is Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency introduced in 2008 amid the financial crisis.  Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore how millennials' decision-making process to use Bitcoin occurs, how the individual perception is related to trust, usefulness, and safety, and in turn, explore what affects the perception and how this is related to the decision-making process. Method: This is a qualitative paper that has followed an interpretivism research philosophy, the approach has been inductive, and data has been collected through semi-structured interviews.  Conclusion: The decision-making process is influenced by perception, which heavily depends on subjective and objective knowledge. Therefore, it is not fiat currencies, Bitcoin, or other alternatives that are changing, but the perception of which options we perceive to be trustworthy, useful, and safe is changing.