Gone with the fire: Market reaction to cryptocurrency exchange shutdown

Abstract

Disruption and shutdown of exchanges frequently happen in the cryptocurrency market, though its potential impacts are relatively under-investigated due to several empirical challenges. This study employs 20-h of service interruption on October 15th at Upbit , the dominant cryptocurrency exchange in Korea, as an exogenous shock to examine the effect of unexpected service interruption at the exchange on cryptocurrency market. Event study estimation using price data from Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, shows the sharp and negative reactions to cryptocurrencies mostly traded at Upbit . Major currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum also presented limited reactions, implying that service interruption could be interpreted as vulnerability of overall cryptocurrencies.