Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies - not for the faint-hearted

Osterrieder, Jörg; Strika, Martin; Lorenz, Julian

doi:10.21256/zhaw-5509

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5509

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies - not for the faint-hearted
Authors:	Osterrieder, Jörg Strika, Martin Lorenz, Julian
DOI:	10.21256/zhaw-5509 10.5296/ifb.v4i1.10451
Published in:	International Finance and Banking
Volume(Issue):	4
Issue:	1
Page(s):	56
Pages to:	94
Issue Date:	2017
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Macrothink Institute
ISSN:	2374-2089
Language:	English
Subjects:	Risk; Bitcoin; Cryptocurrency; Currency
Subject (DDC):	332: Financial economics
Abstract:	Cryptocurrencies became popular with the emergence of Bitcoin and have shown an unprecedented growth over the last few years. As of November 2016, more than 720 cryptocurrencies exist, with Bitcoin still being the most popular one. We provide both a statistical analysis as well as an extreme value analysis of the returns of the most important cryptocurrencies. A particular focus is on the tail risk characteristics and we will provide an in-depth univariate and multivariate extreme value analysis. The tail dependence of cryptocurrencies is investigated (using both empirical and Gaussian copulas). For investors – especially institutional ones – as well as regulators, an understanding of the risk and tail characteristics are of utmost importance. For cryptocurrencies to become a mainstream investable asset class, studying these properties is necessary. Our findings show that cryptocurrencies exhibit strong non-normal characteristics, large tail dependencies, depending on the particular cryptocurrencies and heavy tails. Statistical similarities can be observed for cryptocurrencies that share the same underlying technology. This has implications for risk management, financial engineering (such as derivatives on cryptocurrencies) - both from an investor’s as well as from a regulator’s point of view. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed study looking at the extreme value behaviour of cryptocurrencies, their correlations and tail dependencies as well as their statistical properties.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/16218
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY 3.0: Attribution 3.0 Unported
Departement:	School of Engineering
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Data Analysis and Process Design (IDP)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Engineering

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Osterrieder, J., Strika, M., & Lorenz, J. (2017). Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies - not for the faint-hearted. International Finance and Banking, 4(1), 56–94. https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5509

Osterrieder, J., Strika, M. and Lorenz, J. (2017) ‘Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies - not for the faint-hearted’, International Finance and Banking, 4(1), pp. 56–94. Available at: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5509.

J. Osterrieder, M. Strika, and J. Lorenz, “Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies - not for the faint-hearted,” International Finance and Banking, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 56–94, 2017, doi: 10.21256/zhaw-5509.

OSTERRIEDER, Jörg, Martin STRIKA und Julian LORENZ, 2017. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies - not for the faint-hearted. International Finance and Banking. 2017. Bd. 4, Nr. 1, S. 56–94. DOI 10.21256/zhaw-5509

Osterrieder, Jörg, Martin Strika, and Julian Lorenz. 2017. “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies - Not for the Faint-Hearted.” International Finance and Banking 4 (1): 56–94. https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5509.

Osterrieder, Jörg, et al. “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies - Not for the Faint-Hearted.” International Finance and Banking, vol. 4, no. 1, 2017, pp. 56–94, https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5509.