Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Crypto Asset Investment Behavior
Yıl 2026,
Cilt: 19 Sayı: 1
,
18
-
34
,
30.04.2026
Murat Doğan
,
Özlem Sayılır
,
Nurdan Sevim
,
Dilşad Kırselioğlu
,
Serkan Yesilyurt
Öz
Crypto asset investors tend to exhibit emotional consumer behavior characterized by fear and greed, which leads to Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Therefore, this study attempts to examine the investment behavior of retail crypto investors through the lens of FOMO by investigating how self-confidence and greed contribute to this phenomenon. To achieve this, the study employs Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on survey data from retail investors living in Türkiye. The responses of 403 adults obtained through an online questionnaire administered to active retail crypto asset investors were analyzed to assess the relationships between Investment Behavior, FOMO, Self-Confidence, and Greed. As confirmed with the findings of our study, most of the crypto asset investors in Türkiye are young adults who use social media excessively and they are prone to FOMO. The results of our study reveal that Self-Confidence and Greed are positively associated with FOMO, which is positively associated with Investment Behavior. The results of our study may provide valuable insights for crypto asset investors, financial institutions and regulators to prevent putting investors’ financial prospects at risk due to FOMO and disinformation on social media.
Kaynakça
-
Aftab, R., Mahmood, F., Ahmad, M., & Kiran, S. (2025). Behavioral biases and Fintech adoption. Journal of Economic Psychology, 100, 102318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2025.102318
-
Alternative.me. (2022). Crypto fear & greed index. Retrieved from https://alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index/
Anamika, M., Chakraborty, S., & Subramaniam, S. (2021). Does sentiment impact cryptocurrency? Journal of Behavioral Finance, 22(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427560.2021.1885557
-
Authority, F.C. (2020). Conduct of business (cryptoasset products) instrument 2020. https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/instrument/2020/FCA_2020_34.pdf
-
Authority, F.C. (2021). Young investors driven by competition and hype. Retrieved from https://www.fca.org.uk
-
Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723327
-
Bansal, A. (2022). Emotional discipline is the most critical aspect of investment journey. The Economic Times. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com
-
Bangash, R., Khattak, Z. Z., & Khan, H. (2019). The development of Islamic finance and fostering the influence of moral values and personal factors in investment decision. Global Social Sciences Review, 4(1), 34–41. https://doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2019(IV-I).05
-
Bouri, E., Gupta, R., & Roubaud, D. (2019). Herding behaviour in cryptocurrencies. Finance Research Letters, 29, 216–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2018.07.008
-
Brooks, M., & Byrne, A. (2008). Behavioral finance: Theories and evidence. The Research Foundation of CFA Institute.
-
Delfabbro, P., King, D. L., & Williams, J. (2021). The psychology of cryptocurrency trading: Risk and protective factors. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 10(2), 201–207. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2021.00010
-
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202
-
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
-
Franchina, V., Vanden Abeele, M., Van Rooij, A. J., Lo Coco, G., & De Marez, L. (2018). Fear of missing out as a predictor of problematic social media use and phubbing behavior among Flemish adolescents. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(10), 2319.km
-
Fuster, H., Chamarro, A., & Oberst, U. (2017). Fear of missing out, online social networking and mobile phone addiction: A latent profile approach. Aloma: Revista de Psicologia, Ciències de l'Educació i de l'Esport, 35(1), 22–30.
-
Goodell, J. W., & Goutte, S. (2021). Co-movement of COVID-19 and Bitcoin: Evidence from wavelet coherence analysis. Finance Research Letters, 38, 101625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101625
-
Gori, A., Topino, E., & Cacioppo, M. (2023). Attachment styles, self-esteem, and fear of missing out: A mediation model. Current Psychology, 42, 17133–17141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02348-0
-
Griffiths, M. (2018). Hot topics in gambling: Gambling blocking apps, loot boxes, and crypto-trading addiction. Online Gambling Lawyer, 17(7), 9–11.
-
Gupta, S., & Shrivastava, M. (2021). Herding and loss aversion in stock markets: Mediating role of fear of missing out (FOMO) in retail investors. International Journal of Emerging Markets. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-04-2020-0453
-
Gurdgiev, C., & O’Loughlin, D. (2020). Herding and anchoring in cryptocurrency markets: Investor reaction to fear and uncertainty. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 25, 100271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2020.100271
-
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.). Prentice Hall.
-
Hayduk, L. A. (1987). Structural equation modeling with LISREL: Essentials and advances. Johns Hopkins University Press.
-
Hershfield, H. (2020). How availability bias and FOMO can impact financial decision-making. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com
-
Honold, F. (2025). Personality traits and cryptocurrency investment: The role of risk perception and financial literacy. Personality and Individual Differences, 220, 113456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113456
-
J.P. Morgan Chase Institute. (2023). The dynamics and demographics of U.S. household crypto-asset use. https://www.jpmorganchase.com/institute/all-topics/financial-health-wealth-creation/dynamics-demographics-us-household-crypto-asset-cryptocurrency-use
-
Karkkainen, T. (2022). FOMO in digital assets. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3814493
-
Kim, H. J., Hong, J. S., Hwang, H. C., Kim, S. M., & Han, D. H. (2020). Comparison of psychological status and investment style between bitcoin investors and share investors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 502295.
-
Learn, B. (2021). What does the crypto fear and greed index tell you? Bankrate. Retrieved from https://www.bankrate.com
-
Mahmood, F., Iqbal, M., & Aftab, R. (2024). Impact of behavioral biases on investment decisions and its moderation by financial literacy. Journal of Economic Psychology, 96, 102180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2024.102180
-
Mercedes. (2022). The future of crypto native consumer products. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com
-
Mills, D. J., & Nower, L. (2019). Preliminary findings on cryptocurrency trading among regular gamblers: A new risk for problem gambling? Addictive Behaviors, 92, 136–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.01.009
-
Onanuga, T. (2021). Bitcoin whales: What are they – and how are they affecting the cryptocurrency’s price? Insider. Retrieved from https://www.insider.com
-
Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841–1848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014
-
Rastogi, S., & Gupta, S. (2020). Development of scale to measure objectives-oriented investment behavior. Journal of Behavioral Finance, 21(3), 301–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427560.2020.1716351
-
Scott, J. E. (1995). The measurement of information systems effectiveness: Evaluating a measuring instrument. ACM SIGMIS Database, 26(1), 43–61. https://doi.org/10.1145/217278.217285
-
Servidio, R. (2023). Fear of missing out and self-esteem as predictors of problematic smartphone use: The mediating role of social media use. Current Psychology, 42, 19394–19405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02093-4
-
Seuntjens, T., Zeelenberg, M., van de Ven, N., & Breugelmans, S. M. (2015). Dispositional greed. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(6), 917–933. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000011
-
Seuntjens, T. G., Zeelenberg, M., van de Ven, N., & Breugelmans, S. M. (2016). Greed and adolescent financial behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 57, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2016.09.002
-
Shiva, A., Narula, S., & Shahi, S. K. (2020). What drives retail investors’ investment decisions? Evidence from no mobile phone phobia (Nomophobia) and investor fear of missing out (I-FoMo). Journal of Content, Community & Communication, 10(6), 2–20.
-
Sholihat, S., Rahman, A. A., Sudirman, D., & Azizah, N. A. (2020). The Role of Agreeableness and Self-esteem on Fear of Missing Out. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(1).
-
Steinmetz, F., von Meduna, M., Ante, L., & Fiedler, I. (2021). Ownership, uses and perceptions of cryptocurrency: Results from a population survey. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 173, 121073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121073
-
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. (2019). Bitcoin basics. https://www.cftc.gov/BitcoinBasics
-
Wagg, L. (2019). What is FOMO in trading? Characteristics of a FOMO trader. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com
-
Wang, G., Tang, Y., Xie, C., & Chen, S. (2019). Is bitcoin a safe haven or a hedging asset? Evidence from China. Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 4(3), 173-188.
-
Zunic, J. (2017). The relationship between fear of missing out, self-esteem and life satisfaction (Undergraduate honors thesis). Florida Southern College. https://repository.flsouthern.edu/handle/11416/158
Fırsatları Kaçırma Korkusu (FKK) ve Kripto Varlık Yatırım Davranışı
Yıl 2026,
Cilt: 19 Sayı: 1
,
18
-
34
,
30.04.2026
Murat Doğan
,
Özlem Sayılır
,
Nurdan Sevim
,
Dilşad Kırselioğlu
,
Serkan Yesilyurt
Öz
Kripto varlık yatırımcıları, korku ve açgözlülükle karakterize edilen duygusal tüketici davranışları sergileme eğilimindedir; bu da Fırsatları Kaçırma Korkusu'na (Fear of Missing Out-FOMO) yol açar. Bu nedenle, bu çalışma, öz güven ve açgözlülüğün bu olguya nasıl katkıda bulunduğunu inceleyerek perakende kripto yatırımcılarının yatırım davranışını FOMO açısından incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bunu başarmak için, çalışma Türkiye'de yaşayan perakende yatırımcılardan elde edilen anket verilerine dayalı olarak Yapısal Eşitlik Modelleme (SEM) kullanmaktadır. Aktif perakende kripto varlık yatırımcılarına uygulanan çevrimiçi bir anket aracılığıyla elde edilen 403 yetişkinin yanıtları, Yatırım Davranışı, FOMO, Öz Güven ve Açgözlülük arasındaki ilişkileri değerlendirmek için analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmamızın bulgularıyla doğrulandığı gibi, Türkiye'deki çoğu kripto varlık yatırımcısı, sosyal medyayı aşırı kullanan genç yetişkinlerdir ve FOMO'ya yatkındırlar. Çalışmamızın sonuçları, Öz Güven ve Açgözlülüğün FOMO ile olumlu bir şekilde ilişkili olduğunu, FOMO'nun ise Yatırım Davranışı ile olumlu bir şekilde ilişkili olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışmamızın sonuçları, yatırımcıların finansal beklentilerini FOMO ve sosyal medyadaki yanlış bilgilendirme nedeniyle riske atmaktan korumak için kripto varlık yatırımcıları, finansal kurumlar ve düzenleyiciler için değerli bilgiler sağlayabilir.
Kaynakça
-
Aftab, R., Mahmood, F., Ahmad, M., & Kiran, S. (2025). Behavioral biases and Fintech adoption. Journal of Economic Psychology, 100, 102318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2025.102318
-
Alternative.me. (2022). Crypto fear & greed index. Retrieved from https://alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index/
Anamika, M., Chakraborty, S., & Subramaniam, S. (2021). Does sentiment impact cryptocurrency? Journal of Behavioral Finance, 22(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427560.2021.1885557
-
Authority, F.C. (2020). Conduct of business (cryptoasset products) instrument 2020. https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/instrument/2020/FCA_2020_34.pdf
-
Authority, F.C. (2021). Young investors driven by competition and hype. Retrieved from https://www.fca.org.uk
-
Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723327
-
Bansal, A. (2022). Emotional discipline is the most critical aspect of investment journey. The Economic Times. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com
-
Bangash, R., Khattak, Z. Z., & Khan, H. (2019). The development of Islamic finance and fostering the influence of moral values and personal factors in investment decision. Global Social Sciences Review, 4(1), 34–41. https://doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2019(IV-I).05
-
Bouri, E., Gupta, R., & Roubaud, D. (2019). Herding behaviour in cryptocurrencies. Finance Research Letters, 29, 216–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2018.07.008
-
Brooks, M., & Byrne, A. (2008). Behavioral finance: Theories and evidence. The Research Foundation of CFA Institute.
-
Delfabbro, P., King, D. L., & Williams, J. (2021). The psychology of cryptocurrency trading: Risk and protective factors. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 10(2), 201–207. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2021.00010
-
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202
-
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
-
Franchina, V., Vanden Abeele, M., Van Rooij, A. J., Lo Coco, G., & De Marez, L. (2018). Fear of missing out as a predictor of problematic social media use and phubbing behavior among Flemish adolescents. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(10), 2319.km
-
Fuster, H., Chamarro, A., & Oberst, U. (2017). Fear of missing out, online social networking and mobile phone addiction: A latent profile approach. Aloma: Revista de Psicologia, Ciències de l'Educació i de l'Esport, 35(1), 22–30.
-
Goodell, J. W., & Goutte, S. (2021). Co-movement of COVID-19 and Bitcoin: Evidence from wavelet coherence analysis. Finance Research Letters, 38, 101625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101625
-
Gori, A., Topino, E., & Cacioppo, M. (2023). Attachment styles, self-esteem, and fear of missing out: A mediation model. Current Psychology, 42, 17133–17141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02348-0
-
Griffiths, M. (2018). Hot topics in gambling: Gambling blocking apps, loot boxes, and crypto-trading addiction. Online Gambling Lawyer, 17(7), 9–11.
-
Gupta, S., & Shrivastava, M. (2021). Herding and loss aversion in stock markets: Mediating role of fear of missing out (FOMO) in retail investors. International Journal of Emerging Markets. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-04-2020-0453
-
Gurdgiev, C., & O’Loughlin, D. (2020). Herding and anchoring in cryptocurrency markets: Investor reaction to fear and uncertainty. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 25, 100271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2020.100271
-
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.). Prentice Hall.
-
Hayduk, L. A. (1987). Structural equation modeling with LISREL: Essentials and advances. Johns Hopkins University Press.
-
Hershfield, H. (2020). How availability bias and FOMO can impact financial decision-making. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com
-
Honold, F. (2025). Personality traits and cryptocurrency investment: The role of risk perception and financial literacy. Personality and Individual Differences, 220, 113456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113456
-
J.P. Morgan Chase Institute. (2023). The dynamics and demographics of U.S. household crypto-asset use. https://www.jpmorganchase.com/institute/all-topics/financial-health-wealth-creation/dynamics-demographics-us-household-crypto-asset-cryptocurrency-use
-
Karkkainen, T. (2022). FOMO in digital assets. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3814493
-
Kim, H. J., Hong, J. S., Hwang, H. C., Kim, S. M., & Han, D. H. (2020). Comparison of psychological status and investment style between bitcoin investors and share investors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 502295.
-
Learn, B. (2021). What does the crypto fear and greed index tell you? Bankrate. Retrieved from https://www.bankrate.com
-
Mahmood, F., Iqbal, M., & Aftab, R. (2024). Impact of behavioral biases on investment decisions and its moderation by financial literacy. Journal of Economic Psychology, 96, 102180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2024.102180
-
Mercedes. (2022). The future of crypto native consumer products. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com
-
Mills, D. J., & Nower, L. (2019). Preliminary findings on cryptocurrency trading among regular gamblers: A new risk for problem gambling? Addictive Behaviors, 92, 136–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.01.009
-
Onanuga, T. (2021). Bitcoin whales: What are they – and how are they affecting the cryptocurrency’s price? Insider. Retrieved from https://www.insider.com
-
Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841–1848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014
-
Rastogi, S., & Gupta, S. (2020). Development of scale to measure objectives-oriented investment behavior. Journal of Behavioral Finance, 21(3), 301–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427560.2020.1716351
-
Scott, J. E. (1995). The measurement of information systems effectiveness: Evaluating a measuring instrument. ACM SIGMIS Database, 26(1), 43–61. https://doi.org/10.1145/217278.217285
-
Servidio, R. (2023). Fear of missing out and self-esteem as predictors of problematic smartphone use: The mediating role of social media use. Current Psychology, 42, 19394–19405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02093-4
-
Seuntjens, T., Zeelenberg, M., van de Ven, N., & Breugelmans, S. M. (2015). Dispositional greed. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(6), 917–933. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000011
-
Seuntjens, T. G., Zeelenberg, M., van de Ven, N., & Breugelmans, S. M. (2016). Greed and adolescent financial behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 57, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2016.09.002
-
Shiva, A., Narula, S., & Shahi, S. K. (2020). What drives retail investors’ investment decisions? Evidence from no mobile phone phobia (Nomophobia) and investor fear of missing out (I-FoMo). Journal of Content, Community & Communication, 10(6), 2–20.
-
Sholihat, S., Rahman, A. A., Sudirman, D., & Azizah, N. A. (2020). The Role of Agreeableness and Self-esteem on Fear of Missing Out. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(1).
-
Steinmetz, F., von Meduna, M., Ante, L., & Fiedler, I. (2021). Ownership, uses and perceptions of cryptocurrency: Results from a population survey. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 173, 121073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121073
-
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. (2019). Bitcoin basics. https://www.cftc.gov/BitcoinBasics
-
Wagg, L. (2019). What is FOMO in trading? Characteristics of a FOMO trader. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com
-
Wang, G., Tang, Y., Xie, C., & Chen, S. (2019). Is bitcoin a safe haven or a hedging asset? Evidence from China. Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 4(3), 173-188.
-
Zunic, J. (2017). The relationship between fear of missing out, self-esteem and life satisfaction (Undergraduate honors thesis). Florida Southern College. https://repository.flsouthern.edu/handle/11416/158