A Probe Survey of Bitcoin Transactions Through Analysis of Advertising in an On-Line Discussion Forum

Abstract

Cryptocurrencies have become a major phenomenon in recent years. For IT, a breakthrough is both the cryptocurrency itself as a commodity and the technology that cryptocurrency development has brought. The article focuses on the bitcoin cryptocurrency as the most important cryptocurrency. A relatively unexplored topic is what goods or services are purchased for bitcoins. To track what bitcoins are spent on, it is necessary to look for places that are dedicated to trading cryptocurrencies. The bitcointalk.org forum was chosen as a source for our data mining. The aim of the article is to find an answer to the research question: What are bitcoins on the discussion forum bitcointalk.org planned to be spent on? As part of the research, an application was developed using a PHP script to gather information from the discussion forum (bitcointalk.org). There is some evidence which suggests what types of products or services people spend cryptocurrencies on. This research has proven that cryptocurrencies are used to buy and sell goods or services in the electronics and computer world segments. Today, these segments are widespread, which may speed up the integration of cryptocurrencies into everyday life. This applies, of course, only if the risks associated with cryptocurrencies do not increase.

Keywords

• cryptocurrency
• bitcoin
• on-line advertisement
• text mining
• cybersecurity
• discussion forum