Causality between stock indices and cryptocurrencies during the Russia-Ukraine war

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the causal relationship between stock indices and cryptocurrencies during the current war between Russia and Ukraine. The econometric investigation runs from February 24, 2022 to April 12, 2023, focusing on seven stock market indices (S&P500, DAX, CAC40, Nikkei, TSX, MOEX and PFTS) and seven cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litcoin, Dash, Ripple, DigiByte and XEM). In this article, we try to understand how investors react to fluctuations in financial assets to seek safe havens in crypto currencies. We used dynamic causality in the Granger (1969) sense to detect a possible causal relationship in the short term, and seven models to estimate the long-term relationship between cryptocurrencies and financial assets. The causal relationship between financial market indexes and cryptocurrency coins in the short run indicate that three famous cryptocurrencies (BITCOIN, ETHEREUM, RIPPLE) and the two digital asset with minor popularity (XEM, Digibyte) are impacted by the German, Russian and Ukrainian stock markets. In the long-run we found a positive and significate effect of the American, Canadian, French and Ukrainian stock market indexes on Bitcoin. Thus, the stability of the traditional financial markets during the current war period can be explained on the one hand by investors’ fears of an unstable business climate, and on the other hand, by speculators’ sentiment towards new electronic products which are perceived as hedging instruments and a safe haven in the face of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. JEL Classifcation: C5 · C22 · G1