Are Cryptocurrencies Gambling Asset

Abstract

Cryptocurrencies are newly emerging asset class that has received a lot of at- tention recently. Many investors are considering investing in them as a way of portfolio diversification. This thesis examines whether cryptocurrencies are gambling assets which could be important for investors' decision making and also for better understanding of the cryptocurrencies themselves. Gambling asset is understood in terms of stocks and therefore a comparison of crypto- currency and stock lottery characteristics is made. It is shown that in most time periods it cannot be said that cryptocurrencies exhibit larger lottery characteristics. Furthermore, it is shown that Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Dash and Monero would classify as gambling asset, however, Bitcoin would not. JEL classification C12, C38, C55, G11, O33 Keywords cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, gambling, gambling asset, investment Author's e-mail [email protected] Supervisor's e-mail [email protected] 1