The situation of cryptocurrency in India is a paradox because despite being amongst the top players in the grassroots crypto movement with an estimated 119 million users, India doesn't have any specific legislation and has one of the strictest tax frameworks in the world with tax on gains topped at 1 percent, no loss offset and a flat tax on gains. Although existing research on adoption has quite a lot to say about why adoption keeps increasing even with limited regulatory protection the reasons for this can be particularly pronounced among young adults, aged 18-25. In this study these three factors:- social influence (social media and peer and family influence), Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), and financial literacy are examined with financial literacy as a moderator between the relationship of FOMO and peer/family influence.

A quantitative, cross-sectional approach assessed five constructs — Social Media Influence, Peer/Family Influence, Fear of Missing Out, Financial Literacy, and Adoption Intention — via a 5-point Likert questionnaire administered to young adults in India. After removing 15 straight-lined and 16 out-of-range (18–25) responses, 170 usable responses remained. Data were analysed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4, suited to non-normal data. The measurement model was tested for reliability and validity (outer loadings, Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, AVE, HTMT), followed by structural model testing via bootstrapping (5,000 subsamples).

Results were mixed relative to the hypotheses: peer/family influence significantly and strongly predicted adoption intention (β=0.631, p<0.001), while social media influence was small and only marginally significant (β=0.128, p=0.051). FOMO when tested alone, emerged as the strongest predictor of adoption intention (β=0.660, p<0.001, f²=0.773). Financial literacy did not moderate the FOMO or peer-influence pathways but showed strong direct effect of its own, indicating it functions as an independent driver of adoption intention rather than a protective buffer against social and emotional pressure. This suggests financial literacy training or social media campaigns alone would be insufficient, policy should instead target interpersonal networks and emotional decision-making cues directly. The cross-sectional design is noted as a limitation, alongside directions for future research.

Keywords: Cryptocurrency Adoption, Social Influence, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), Financial Literacy, PLS-SEM, Young Adults, India.