As key innovations in the financial world, digital currencies have the potential to transform athletes’ economic behaviors, but their acceptance in developing societies such as Iran requires an examination of psychological factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the level of knowledge, attitude, and behavior of Iranian athletes towards digital currencies, emphasizing the role of mediating factors such as trust and perceived risk. This study was conducted with a mixed exploratory approach. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 knowledgeable individuals to extract key themes such as technical knowledge, utility attitude, trust in security, and financial risk, which led to the design of a quantitative questionnaire. In the quantitative phase, 240 athletes were surveyed through stratified sampling and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and structural equation modeling. The results showed that the level of knowledge of athletes affects their positive attitude, and this attitude strengthens the intention to use and invest by increasing trust and reducing perceived risk. Actual behavior is also influenced by intention, indicating a cascade of psychological factors in adoption. These findings are consistent with previous research in the field of adoption of emerging technologies, where knowledge and trust act as drivers and risk as barriers. This study emphasizes that educational programs to increase knowledge and trust can facilitate the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the athlete community and contribute to sustainable economic development. These results can be a basis for sports and financial policymaking in Iran.