Later research indicated that electric current is actually the flow of
through a conductor
electrons
positive ions

Electrons.

Explanation:

Electricity was discovered before the discovery of electrons by J.J Thompson in 1896. Before the electron, it was thought that it is the positive ions that move through the wire and carry current—that's why today the conventional current represents the flow of positive charges.

After J.J Thompson's discovery of the electrons, it was realized that it is the electrons that actually carry the current through the conductor. But changing the direction of the conventional current didn't seem appropriate, and that's why the convention continues to be used to this day—reminding us that once it were the positive ions that were thought to carry the current.