A 3C-TPB model of cryptocurrency education readiness: Evidence from Romania

Cryptocurrency systems integrate computing, communication, and control mechanisms; therefore, they create a need for structured education to support understanding and innovation. Public readiness for cryptocurrency education has been investigated across behavioral, technological, and regulatory dimensions. Previous studies have approached these dimensions in isolation, without a unified framework to explain their combined influence on readiness and behavioral intention. To address this gap, this paper examines the conditions that shape readiness for institutionalized cryptocurrency education and explores their effects on behavioral intention. The Theory of Planned Behavior was integrated with a Computing–Communications–Control structure to establish the proposed research model. Readiness is viewed as the product of computing-related capabilities, communication processes, and regulatory conditions. A survey was conducted with 476 adults in Romania. Based on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, the findings reveal that perceived behavioral control is positively influenced by education, financial literacy, and system familiarity. Behavioral intention is positively predicted by perceived behavioral control and regulatory clarity. Within the communication dimension, social media influence positively predicts subjective norms. However, subjective norms show a negative relationship with intention, pointing to a counterintuitive dynamic in how communication conditions operate in this context. This work introduces a system-level framework that connects capability formation, communication dynamics, and control conditions within a unified structure. It provides a foundation for designing cryptocurrency education programs that integrate technical competence, information evaluation, and regulatory awareness.