articleFinance research lettersMay 24, 2020HYBRID OA

Safe haven or risky hazard? Bitcoin during the Covid-19 bear market

TCThomas ConlonRMRichard McGee

University College Dublin

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

The Covid-19 bear market presents the first acute market losses since active trading of Bitcoin began. This market downturn provides a timely test of the frequently expounded safe haven properties of Bitcoin. In this paper, we show that Bitcoin does not act as a safe haven, instead decreasing in price in lockstep with the S&P 500 as the crisis develops. When held alongside the S&P 500, even a small allocation to Bitcoin substantially increases portfolio downside risk. Our empirical findings cast doubt on the ability of Bitcoin to provide shelter from turbulence in traditional markets.

Citation impact

819
total citations
FWCI
169.86
Percentile
100%
References
41
Citations per year

Authors

2

Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Safe haven
  • Portfolio
  • Downside risk
  • Economics
  • Financial economics
  • Monetary economics
  • Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
  • Haven
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Industry, innovation and infrastructure
No related works found for this paper.

Funding