The Governance Logic of Ethical Risks in Fintech: A Bibliometric Analysis

As fintech drives efficiency gains, ethical concerns such as data privacy and algorithmic fairness have become increasingly prominent, making efficiency and fairness the focal points of research. This study adopts a bibliometric analysis to systematically review the field’s publication trends, journal distribution, and research hotspots. Based on keyword clustering and content analysis, the study proposes a three-level ethical risk identification framework—technology, application, and society—and explores its implications for governance structure, revealing theoretical disconnections across levels. Using stablecoins as a representative case of cross-level risk, the study highlights the urgency of ethical governance in fintech. The transboundary and cross-institutional risks posed by stablecoins present new challenges to existing regulatory systems and validate the practical relevance of a systematic governance framework. Accordingly, this paper constructs a tiered governance model comprising protection, regulation, and coordination. The findings provide a structured knowledge base for both academia and practice, and point to future research directions: deepening the identification of ethical risk origins and long-term effects, advancing localized and contextualized studies, and exploring interdisciplinary quantitative methods. These directions aim to support the balance between efficiency and fairness, contributing to the modernization of digital financial governance and the development of new quality productive forces.