IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ebl/ecbull/eb-18-00781.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bitcoin: competitor or complement to gold?

Author

Listed:
  • Jamal Bouoiyour

    (IRMAPE-ESC Pau Business School; CATT University of Pau, France)

  • Refk Selmi

    (IRMAPE-ESC Pau Business School; CATT University of Pau, France)

  • Mark E. Wohar

    (University of Nebraska, USA; Loughborough University, UK.)

Abstract

This study seeks to address whether Bitcoin ever match or even replace gold as a safe haven. To this end, we use a dynamic Markov-switching copula model to test the complementarity and substitutability among Bitcoin and gold within two risk scenarios (i.e., low- and high-risk regimes). Our results reveal a positive and strong correlation between gold and Bitcoin returns coinciding with specific economic and political events. Gold and Bitcoin benefit from the same economic conditions. This suggests that gold and Bitcoin are likely to be complementary, rather than in competition with each other. Gold could act as a diversifier for investors in digital assets. But the Bitcoin have a lot to teach gold in terms of the efficient transfer of value.

Suggested Citation

  • Jamal Bouoiyour & Refk Selmi & Mark E. Wohar, 2019. "Bitcoin: competitor or complement to gold?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 186-191.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-18-00781
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2019/Volume39/EB-19-V39-I1-P19.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lubos Pástor & Pietro Veronesi, 2012. "Uncertainty about Government Policy and Stock Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(4), pages 1219-1264, August.
    2. Marie Briere & Kim Oosterlinck & Ariane Szafarz, 2015. "Virtual Currency, Tangible Return: Portfolio Diversification with Bitcoins," Post-Print CEB, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 16(6), pages 365-373.
    3. Bouoiyour, Jamal & Selmi, Refk & Wohar, Mark E., 2018. "Measuring the response of gold prices to uncertainty: An analysis beyond the mean," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 105-116.
    4. Selmi, Refk & Mensi, Walid & Hammoudeh, Shawkat & Bouoiyour, Jamal, 2018. "Is Bitcoin a hedge, a safe haven or a diversifier for oil price movements? A comparison with gold," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 787-801.
    5. Dyhrberg, Anne Haubo, 2016. "Hedging capabilities of bitcoin. Is it the virtual gold?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 139-144.
    6. Bouri, Elie & Gupta, Rangan & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Roubaud, David, 2017. "Does Bitcoin hedge global uncertainty? Evidence from wavelet-based quantile-in-quantile regressions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 87-95.
    7. Dirk G. Baur & Brian M. Lucey, 2010. "Is Gold a Hedge or a Safe Haven? An Analysis of Stocks, Bonds and Gold," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 217-229, May.
    8. Luther, William J. & Salter, Alexander W., 2017. "Bitcoin and the bailout," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 50-56.
    9. Andrew J. Patton, 2006. "Modelling Asymmetric Exchange Rate Dependence," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(2), pages 527-556, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jamal Bouoiyour & Refk Selmi, 2019. "Should Bitcoin be used to help devastated economies? Evidence from Greece," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 513-520.
    2. Helmut Stix, 2021. "Ownership and purchase intention of crypto-assets: survey results," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 65-99, February.
    3. Svetoslav Borisov, 2024. "Bitcoin – Hedge or Speculative Asset: Analysis of Its Role and Nature," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 5, pages 148-170.
    4. Lin, Mei-Yin & An, Che-Lun, 2021. "The relationship between Bitcoin and resource commodity futures: Evidence from NARDL approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Jamal Bouoiyour & Refk Selmi, 2019. "How do futures contracts affect Bitcoin prices?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(2), pages 1127-1134.
    6. Khaled L. AL-Naif, 2020. "Coronavirus Pandemic Impact on the Nexus Between Gold and Bitcoin Prices," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 11(5), pages 442-449, October.
    7. Aysu Ahmadova & Taghi Guliyev & Khatai Aliyev, 2024. "The Relationship between Bitcoin and Nasdaq, U.S. Dollar Index and Commodities," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(1), pages 281-289, January.
    8. Nurkhodzha Akbulaev & Tural Abdulhasanov, 2023. "Analyzing the Connection between Energy Prices and Cryptocurrency throughout the Pandemic Period," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(1), pages 227-234, January.
    9. Nikolaos A. Kyriazis, 2020. "Is Bitcoin Similar to Gold? An Integrated Overview of Empirical Findings," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, May.
    10. Jalan, Akanksha & Matkovskyy, Roman & Urquhart, Andrew & Yarovaya, Larisa, 2023. "The role of interpersonal trust in cryptocurrency adoption," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    11. Jamal Bouoiyour & Refk Selmi, 2019. "Beyond the Big Challenges facing Facebook's Libra," Working Papers hal-02309316, HAL.
    12. Umar, Muhammad & Su, Chi-Wei & Rizvi, Syed Kumail Abbas & Shao, Xue-Feng, 2021. "Bitcoin: A safe haven asset and a winner amid political and economic uncertainties in the US?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    13. Zhang, Shuai & Hou, Xinyu & Ba, Shusong, 2021. "What determines interest rates for bitcoin lending?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    14. Prateek Goorha, 2020. "Bitcoinomics 101: principles of the Bitcoin market," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(1), pages 163-176.
    15. Selmi, Refk & Bouoiyour, Jamal & Wohar, Mark E., 2022. "“Digital Gold” and geopolitics," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    16. R. K. Jana & Indranil Ghosh & Debojyoti Das, 2021. "A differential evolution-based regression framework for forecasting Bitcoin price," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 306(1), pages 295-320, November.
    17. Aiman Hairudin & Imtiaz Mohammad Sifat & Azhar Mohamad & Yusniliyana Yusof, 2022. "Cryptocurrencies: A survey on acceptance, governance and market dynamics," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 4633-4659, October.
    18. Serda Selin Ozturk, 2020. "Dynamic Connectedness between Bitcoin, Gold, and Crude Oil Volatilities and Returns," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Selmi, Refk & Bouoiyour, Jamal & Wohar, Mark E., 2022. "“Digital Gold” and geopolitics," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    2. Ángeles Cebrián-Hernández & Enrique Jiménez-Rodríguez, 2021. "Modeling of the Bitcoin Volatility through Key Financial Environment Variables: An Application of Conditional Correlation MGARCH Models," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Hanif, Waqas & Areola Hernandez, Jose & Troster, Victor & Kang, Sang Hoon & Yoon, Seong-Min, 2022. "Nonlinear dependence and spillovers between cryptocurrency and global/regional equity markets," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Duc Huynh, Toan Luu & Burggraf, Tobias & Wang, Mei, 2020. "Gold, platinum, and expected Bitcoin returns," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    5. Selmi, Refk & Mensi, Walid & Hammoudeh, Shawkat & Bouoiyour, Jamal, 2018. "Is Bitcoin a hedge, a safe haven or a diversifier for oil price movements? A comparison with gold," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 787-801.
    6. Mensi, Walid & Sensoy, Ahmet & Aslan, Aylin & Kang, Sang Hoon, 2019. "High-frequency asymmetric volatility connectedness between Bitcoin and major precious metals markets," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    7. Le, TN-Lan & Abakah, Emmanuel Joel Aikins & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar, 2021. "Time and frequency domain connectedness and spill-over among fintech, green bonds and cryptocurrencies in the age of the fourth industrial revolution," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    8. Corbet, Shaen & Lucey, Brian & Urquhart, Andrew & Yarovaya, Larisa, 2019. "Cryptocurrencies as a financial asset: A systematic analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 182-199.
    9. Fang, Libing & Bouri, Elie & Gupta, Rangan & Roubaud, David, 2019. "Does global economic uncertainty matter for the volatility and hedging effectiveness of Bitcoin?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 29-36.
    10. Chu, Jeffrey & Chan, Stephen & Zhang, Yuanyuan, 2021. "Bitcoin versus high-performance technology stocks in diversifying against global stock market indices," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 580(C).
    11. Feng, Hao & Gao, Da & Duan, Kun & Urquhart, Andrew, 2023. "Does Bitcoin affect decomposed oil shocks differently? Evidence from a quantile-based framework," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    12. Bedoui, Rihab & Benkraiem, Ramzi & Guesmi, Khaled & Kedidi, Islem, 2023. "Portfolio optimization through hybrid deep learning and genetic algorithms vine Copula-GARCH-EVT-CVaR model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    13. Bouri, Elie & Gupta, Rangan & Lahiani, Amine & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2018. "Testing for asymmetric nonlinear short- and long-run relationships between bitcoin, aggregate commodity and gold prices," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 224-235.
    14. Bhuiyan, Rubaiyat Ahsan & Husain, Afzol & Zhang, Changyong, 2021. "A wavelet approach for causal relationship between bitcoin and conventional asset classes," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    15. Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain & Bouri, Elie & Roubaud, David & Kristoufek, Ladislav & Lucey, Brian, 2019. "Is Bitcoin a better safe-haven investment than gold and commodities?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 322-330.
    16. Kurka, Josef, 2019. "Do cryptocurrencies and traditional asset classes influence each other?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 38-46.
    17. Kliber, Agata & Marszałek, Paweł & Musiałkowska, Ida & Świerczyńska, Katarzyna, 2019. "Bitcoin: Safe haven, hedge or diversifier? Perception of bitcoin in the context of a country’s economic situation — A stochastic volatility approach," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 524(C), pages 246-257.
    18. Baur, Dirk G. & Hoang, Lai T. & Hossain, Md Zakir, 2022. "Is Bitcoin a hedge? How extreme volatility can destroy the hedge property," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    19. Zhou, Siwen, 2018. "Exploring the Driving Forces of the Bitcoin Exchange Rate Dynamics: An EGARCH Approach," MPRA Paper 89445, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Achraf Ghorbel & Wajdi Frikha & Yasmine Snene Manzli, 2022. "Testing for asymmetric non-linear short- and long-run relationships between crypto-currencies and stock markets," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(3), pages 387-425, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bitcoin; gold; testing for complementarity and substitution; Markov-switching copula model.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F3 - International Economics - - International Finance
    • G1 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-18-00781. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: John P. Conley (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.