Purpose This paper aims to examine the predictive power of the volume of Economic Uncertainty Related Queries and the Macroeconomic Uncertainty Index on the Bitcoin returns. Design/methodology/approach Data consists of 118 monthly observations from September 2010 to June 2020. Due to the departure of series from Gaussian distribution and the existence of outliers, the authors use the quantile analysis framework to investigate the persistency of the shocks, the long-run relationships and Granger causality among the variables. Findings This research provides several important findings. First, the substantial differences between conventional and quantile test results stress the importance of the method selection. Second, throughout the conditional distribution of the series, stochastic properties of the variables, long-run and the causal relationships between the variables might be significantly different. Third, rich information provided by the quantile framework might help the investors design better investment strategies. Originality/value This study differs from the previous research in terms of variable selection and econometric methodology. Therefore, it presents a more comprehensive framework that suggests implications for empirical researchers and Bitcoin investors.
Purpose The aim of the paper is to investigate the risk-hedging and/or safe haven properties of environmental, social and governance (ESG) index during the COVID-19 in China. Design/methodology/approach This paper employs the DCC, VCC, CCC as well as Newey–West estimator regression. Findings The findings provide empirical evidence of the risk hedging properties of ESG indexes as well as of the environmental, social and governance thematic indexes during the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis. The results also support the superior risk hedging properties of ESG indexes over cryptocurrency. However, the authors do not find any safe haven properties of ESG, Bitcoin, gold and West Texas Intermediate (WTI). Practical implications The paper offers therefore, practical policy implications for asset managers, central bankers and investors suggesting the pandemic risk-hedging opportunities of ESG investments. Originality/value The study represents one of the first empirical contributions examining safe-haven and hedging properties of ESG indexes compared to traditional and innovative safe haven assets, during the eruption of the COVID-19 crisis.
Inzamam Ul Haq, Apichit Maneengam, Supat Chupradit, Chunhui Huo
This article aims to explore the co-movement of daily returns among S&P green bonds (GB/GBs), the top five sustainable cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSWI) and the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Market Index (DJSEMI) to determine whether GBs, Bitcoin and sustainable cryptocurrencies are truly sustainable; in addition, it investigates hedging and diversification opportunities. Using a partial wavelet coherence framework to capture the bivariate co-movement, our findings show strong (weak) positive co-movements among GB (sustainable cryptocurrencies) and DJSWI returns, where GBs (sustainable cryptocurrencies) have a heterogeneous leading role in the short-term and long-term horizons. Results indicate moderate positive (negative) co-movement among GBs and sustainable cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin) and DJSWI in the short run (long run). Overall, the results show GB (sustainable cryptocurrencies) acts as a diversifier for Bitcoin and sustainable cryptocurrencies in most cases (DJSWI). However, increasing Bitcoin returns adversely impacts the DJSWI in the long run. Findings are equally imperative for green investors, crypto traders and policymakers, where investors and traders can earn financial and social returns, and policy-makers can deploy suitable policies for the development of sustainable cryptocurrency mining processes. The role of Bitcoin is alarming for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and global greener economy.
Blockchain technology is considered to be a disruptive technology that has real potential for change after steam engines, electricity, and the Internet. However, in terms of power generation, the current level of hydropower development in my country is only 39%. Compared with developed countries, there is still a big gap and a high development space. This article proposes a research on the application of blockchain technology in smart sustainable energy business models, studies the conversion path of sustainable energy systems, introduces integrated energy service blockchain technology, and builds a sustainable energy transition model. The selection of practical dimensions requires both Quantitative indicators also require cultural and behavioral qualitative indicators; finally, through the analysis of social development trends and government policies, the external variable landscape signals are parameterized. Sustainable energy rather than fossil energy is the energy of the future. Weak landscape signals have significantly weakened the development of the sustainable energy niche: the proportion of coal consumption has declined slowly. Although it has transformed from a system to a niche, it has always been higher than that of other energy types. Only with long-term landscape pressure, positive changes to sustainable energy technologies and infrastructure, and continuous changes in consumer preferences, can sustainable energy ultimately dominate.
Md Hakim Ali, Chrıstophe Schınckus, Akther Uddin, Saeed Pahlevansharif
Purpose Even though Bitcoin has been often labelled as a safe haven asset class in the literature, the influence of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on the diversifying opportunities offered by Bitcoin in relation to other assets needs to be investigated. This paper aims to investigate how the EPU affects diversification of commodity, conventional, Islamic and sustainable equity returns in relation to its impact on Bitcoin returns. Design/methodology/approach The authors use advanced time-series econometrics, namely, multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic-dynamic conditional correlation and continuous wavelet transformation, for the analysis of the daily returns for the aforementioned assets between 01 August 2011 and 01 September 2019. Findings First, the authors found a strong evidence of Bitcoin’s mean reverting trend in the long run while its volatility has decreased significantly since 2013. After separating the EPU into two regimes (high and low), diversification opportunities with Bitcoin seems to disappear in a high EPU period, while the hedging opportunity tends to prevail in a low EPU period for all classes of assets. Importantly, the findings indicate that Bitcoin offers short-term diversification for sustainable and Islamic equity as well as energy stocks during a low uncertainty period. Consequently, in relation to the policy uncertainty, Bitcoin provides similar hedging opportunities than commodities like Gold and Silver. Overall, the study shows that EPU is remarkably important in explaining the average portfolio returns of Bitcoin, suggesting that this indicator can be perceived as a decent explanatory factor for portfolio diversification. Originality/value The study significantly extends the empirical literature of Bitcoin’s portfolio diversification by taking EPU into consideration. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few studies to investigate the asymmetric effects of US EPU on Bitcoin’s hedging capabilities by taking into account major conventional equity, sustainable equity, Islamic equity, gold, silver and oil.
The aim of this study is to gauge the impact of global economic policy uncertainty and natural resource prices, that is, oil prices and gold prices, on Bitcoin returns by using monthly data spanning from May 2013 to December 2021. The study applies ARDL and nonlinear ARDL for evaluating the symmetric and asymmetric effects of Global Economic Uncertainty (GU), oil price (O), and natural gas price on Bitcoin volatility investigated by using the ARCH-GARCH-ERAGCH and non-granger causality test. ARDL model estimation establishes a long-run cointegration between GU, O, G, and Bitcoin. Moreover, GU and oil price exhibits a negative association with Bitcoin and positive influences running from gold price shock to Bitcoin in the long run. NARDL results ascertain the long-run asymmetric relations between GU, oil price, gold price (G), and Bitcoin return. Furthermore, GU’s asymmetric effect and positive shock in gold price negatively linked to Bitcoin return in the long run, whereas asymmetric shock in oil price and negative shocks in gold price established a positive linkage with Bitcoin. The results of ARCH effects disclose the volatility persistence in the variables. The causality test reveals that the feedback hypothesis explains the causal effects between GU and Bitcoin and unidirectional causality running from Bitcoin to gold price and oil price to Bitcoin.
Bu çalışmanın amacı Bitcoin’in emtialar için çeşitlendirici rolünün ve emtialarla etkileşiminin incelenmesidir. İnceleme kapsamında Bitcoin, altın, gümüş, emtia endeksi, ham petrol ve enerji emtiaları endeksi değişkenlerinden oluşan 17.09.2014 - 24.11.2021 dönemini kapsayan günlük veri seti Garman-Klass serilerine dönüştürülmüş ve dinamik koşullu korelasyon modelleri uygulanmıştır. Uygulama sonucunda Bitcoin ile emtialar arasındaki etkileşimi test etmek için en uygun modelin cDCC-GARCH olduğu gözlenmiş ve Bitcoin ile emtialar (gümüş hariç) arasındaki etkileşimin negatif yönlü; emtiaların kendi aralarındaki etkileşimin pozitif yönlü olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bulgular, Bitcoin’in emtialar için (gümüş hariç) diğer emtialara göre daha iyi bir çeşitlendirici olduğunu ve Bitcoin’in emtia bulunduran portföye dahil edildiğinde hedge etme görevi üstlendiğini göstermektedir.
Radosław Miśkiewicz, Krzysztof Matan, Jakub Karnowski
The rapid growth of information technology and industrial revolutions provoked digital transformation of all sectors, from the government to households. Moreover, digital transformations led to the development of cryptocurrency. However, crypto trading provokes a dilemma loop. On the one hand, crypto trading led to economic development, which allowed attracting additional resources to extending smart and green technologies for de-carbonising the economic growth. On the other hand, crypto trading led to intensifying energy sources, which provoked an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation. The paper aims to analyse the connections between crypto trading, economic development of the country, renewable energy consumption, and environmental degradation. The data for analysis were obtained from: Our World in Data, World Data Bank, Eurostat, Ukrstat, Crystal Blockchain, and KOF Globalisation Index. To check the hypothesis, the paper applied the Pedroni and Kao panel cointegration tests, FMOLS and DOLS panel cointegration models, and Vector Error Correction Models. The findings concluded that the increasing crypto trading led to enhanced GDP, real gross fixed capital formation, and globalisation. However, in the long run, the relationship between crypto trading and the share of renewable energies in total energy consumption was not confirmed by the empirical results. For further directions, it is necessary to analyse the impact of crypto trading on land and water pollution.
This work investigates the factors determining the Kazakh energy crisis which occurred in the second half of 2021. From the correlation observed among some data gathered to the purpose of the analysis, the relevant role played in this by cryptocurrency mining factories is identified. Beginning from June 2021, a massive number of them were relocated to Kazakhstan from the Popular Republic of China (PRC) because of normative restrictions introduced by the latter. The work also develops a reflection aimed at understanding the economic and environmental impact which has been produced by this relocation. The descriptive analysis will proceed as follows: the first section of the article will focus on the regulation of cryptocurrencies; the second section will focus on final electricity consumption and sup-porting empirical evidence and is closely related to the third and last section; the latter will focus on primary macro-economic indicators in relation to the increase in CO2 emissions in the Kazakh republic. To this end, it is useful to demonstrate a correlation between the energy crisis, the transfer of cryptocurrency mining to Kazakhstan, and to fuel the discussion regarding the need for a supranational institution with the aim of codifying a common international legislation, thus reinforcing the efforts made so far in this direction. Present and future implications and scenarios de-rived by the analysis are also introduced.
In this study, the dependence between Bitcoin (BTC) and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) of USA and China is estimated by applying the latest methodology of quantile cross-spectral dependence. Daily data comprising a total of 1947 observations and covering the period of 1 October 2013 to 31 January 2019 are used in this study. The findings indicate that a positive return interdependence between BTC and EPU is high in the short term, and this dependence decreases as investment horizons increase from weekly to yearly. The information on the time-varying and time–frequency structure of interdependence is also extracted by applying wavelet coherence analysis. The estimated results of wavelet coherence suggest that the correlation between BTC and EPU is positive during a short-term investment horizon. Finally, the frequency domain Breitung and Candelon causality test is applied, and results show the evidence of insignificant causality between Bitcoin and EPU. Overall, the findings highlight the diversification benefits of Bitcoin during the period of uncertainty.
Environmental protection is a basic public service that the government must guarantee and is closely related to public health. An important driver of environmental pollution in China is the local government’s pursuit of a rapid economic development while ignoring environmental protection under the Chinese-style fiscal decentralization system. On the basis of the principal–agent theory between the central and local governments, this study analyzes the environmental deterioration caused by the distortion of local government behavior under fiscal decentralization. In addition, using China’s prefecture-level city data from 2014 to 2018, this study empirically estimates the impact of fiscal decentralization on environmental pollution. SO 2 emissions and PM 2.5 concentrations are used to measure the degree of environmental pollution. Results show that Chinese-style fiscal decentralization exacerbates environmental pollution and that the impact of fiscal decentralization on environmental pollution differs in regions with varying levels of economic development and cultural penetration. Moreover, fiscal decentralization does not significantly impact environmental pollution in eastern China and in those areas influenced by Confucian culture yet aggravates the environmental pollution in central and western China and in those areas that are not affected by Confucian culture. These results offer important policy implications. Clearly dividing the power and financial power between the central and local governments, establishing an environmental governance system compatible with economic incentives, and building an environmental public finance system can alleviate the impact of Chinese-style fiscal decentralization on environmental pollution.
Clean energy projects have difficulties accessing finance. The transition to clean energy and accelerating investments in green projects require a game-changing approach, groundbreaking infrastructure, and pioneering green financing strategies. This article discusses the potential of blockchain technology in filling the green investment gap. Use cases related to the application of blockchain in green projects are analyzed. Blockchain technology can provide security, transparency, auditability, and traceability and help fill the green finance gap.
Due to data limitations on bitcoin-related emissions, assessing the environmental impacts of bitcoin appear difficult. This data in brief article presents constructed daily frequency dataset on bitcoin annualised carbon footprint spanning July 7, 2010 to December 4, 2021 with 4,158 observations. The 12 data variables capture floor, ceiling, and optimal annualised carbon footprint from coal, oil, gas, and the average from the 3 sources. The constructed bitcoin carbon footprint data are measured in kgCO2 using emission factors for electricity generation from IEA World Energy Outlook. The data will benefit multidisciplinary research on cryptocurrency from environmental, energy, and economics disciplines.
This paper examines the diversification role of socially responsible investments (SRI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess the contribution to risk diversification and improved financial performance of SRI we analyze the effect of including clean energy equities in portfolios of conventional equities and other assets commonly considered as safe havens. We construct minimum variance portfolios for different rebalancing frequencies and by considering or restricting short positions. Two approaches are applied: AR-GARCH models to fit the marginal distributions of individual assets and DCC skew Student copula specifications to model the conditional dependencies among pairs via the Kendall's tau correlation measure. We provide evidence of the important role that SRI have played in diversifying and improving the financial performance of portfolios based on different securities such as traditional equities, Treasury bonds, gold, crude oil and Bitcoin.
Syed Ali Raza, Larisa Yarovaya, Khaled Guesmi, Nida Shah
Purpose This article aims to uncover the impact of Google Trends on cryptocurrency markets beyond Bitcoin during the time of increased attention to altcoins, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyses the nexus among the Google Trends and six cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin, New Economy Movement (NEM), Dash, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin by utilizing the causality-in-quantiles technique on data comprised of the years January 2016–March 2021. Findings The findings show that Google Trends cause the Litecoin, Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum and NEM prices at majority of the quantiles except for Dash. Originality/value The findings will help investors to develop more in-depth understanding of impact of Google Trends on cryptocurrency prices and build successful trading strategies in a more matured digital assets ecosystem.
Yizhi Wang, Brian M. Lucey, Samuel A. Vigne, Larisa Yarovaya
Based on coverage of over 660m news stories from LexisNexis News & Business between 2015–2021, we provide two new indices around the growing area of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): the CBDC Uncertainty Index (CBDCUI) and CBDC Attention Index (CBDCAI). We show that both indices spiked during news related to new developments in CBDC and in relation to digital currency news items. We demonstrate that CBDC indices have a significant negative relationship with the volatilities of the MSCI World Banks Index, USEPU, and the FTSE All-World Index, and positive with the volatilities of cryptocurrency markets, foreign exchange markets, bond markets, VIX, and gold. Our results suggest that financial markets are more sensitive to CBDC Uncertainty than CBDC Attention as proxy by these indices. These findings contain useful insights to individual and institutional investors, and can guide policymakers, regulators, and the media on how CBDC evolved as a barometer in the new digital-currency era.
Xuejia Sang, Xiaopeng Leng, Linfu Xue, Xiangjin Ran
The energy consumption and carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies have always been a popular topic. However, most of the existing studies only focus on one cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and there is a lack of long-term monitoring studies that summarize all cryptocurrencies. By constructing a time series hash rate/power model, this research obtained the 10-year time series data on energy consumption dataset of global top-25 cryptocurrencies for the first time. Both the temporal coverage and the spatiotemporal resolution of the data exceed previous studies. The results show that Bitcoin’s power consumption only accounts for 58% of the top-25 cryptocurrencies. After China bans cryptocurrencies, the conservative change in global CO2 emissions from 2020 will be between −0.4% and 4.4%, and Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan are likely to become areas of rapid growth in carbon emissions from cryptocurrencies.
Abstract Under the system of political centralization and economic decentralization, the expanding scale of land finance and the increasingly severe environmental pressure have jointly become crucial features of China's urban development. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to study the intrinsic mechanism of land finance on haze pollution for China's economy to achieve kinetic energy transformation and green development. This paper empirically analyzes the impact of land finance on haze pollution using a dynamic spatial Durbin model based on panel data of 269 prefecture‐level cities in China from 2004 to 2017. The statistical results show that haze pollution has a significant “snowball effect” and space spillover effect. Land finance has a significant positive effect on haze pollution. Land transfer both by agreement and by bid invitation, auction, and listing have significant positive effect on haze pollution. However, the promoting effect of land transfer by agreement on haze pollution is significantly higher than that of land sale by bid invitation, auction, and listing. Furthermore, regional heterogeneity implies that for cities in the eastern region, land finance is conducive to alleviating haze pollution. In contrast, for cities in the central and western regions, land finance significantly promotes haze pollution.