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Does Bitcoin add value to global industry portfolios?

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  • Damianov, Damian S.
  • Elsayed, Ahmed H.

Abstract

Bitcoin has been increasingly viewed as a new form of investment, yet its role as an asset in a diversified industry portfolio is not well understood. In this paper, we explore the dynamic interdependence between Bitcoin and the ten global industry sectors classified by the Global Industry Classification Standard. We find, in accordance with previous literature, that Bitcoin is relatively isolated from traditional industries. While the near-zero correlation with traditional financial assets offers some diversification benefits to investors, these benefits are counterbalanced by the volatility of the asset. Bitcoin’s optimal presence in a minimum variance portfolio is only about 1 percent – a weight that is robust to various methods for estimating the return covariance matrix. Bitcoin’s optimal weight in portfolios maximizing Sharpe and Sortino ratios are on the magnitude of 10 to 20 percent. Hence, the value of Bitcoin as an asset in a diversified portfolio critically depends on investors’ views about the future of Blockchain technology.

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  • Damianov, Damian S. & Elsayed, Ahmed H., 2020. "Does Bitcoin add value to global industry portfolios?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:191:y:2020:i:c:s0165176519304768
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2019.108935
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    14. Rubaiyat Ahsan Bhuiyan & Afzol Husain & Changyong Zhang, 2023. "Diversification evidence of bitcoin and gold from wavelet analysis," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-36, December.
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    18. Aktham Maghyereh & Hussein Abdoh, 2022. "COVID-19 and the volatility interlinkage between bitcoin and financial assets," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(6), pages 2875-2901, December.
    19. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Boubaker, Sabri & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Rahman, Molla Ramizur, 2022. "Systemic risk-sharing framework of cryptocurrencies in the COVID–19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    20. Rym Regaieg & Wajdi Moussa & Nidhal Mgadmi, 2024. "Can We Reckon Bitcoin as a Hedge, a Safe Haven or a Diversifier for US Dollars?," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 25(2_suppl), pages 138-150, April.
    21. Chowdhury, Md Shahedur R. & Damianov, Damian S. & Elsayed, Ahmed H., 2022. "Bubbles and crashes in cryptocurrencies: Interdependence, contagion, or asset rotation?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bitcoin; Global industry sectors; Return spillovers; Portfolio diversification;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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