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Measuring the impact of digital exchange cyberattacks on Bitcoin Returns

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  • Milunovich, George
  • Lee, Seung Ah

Abstract

We investigate the impact on Bitcoin returns arising from cyberattacks on digital exchanges over the 2012–2021 period. In particular, we test the hypothesis that Bitcoin experiences lower returns on the dates associated with cybersecurity breaches of cryptocurrency exchanges. We find a negative and statistically significant impact where Bitcoin price declines by about 1.513 percent on the cyberattack days. However, a subsample analysis suggests that while the estimated effect is somewhat larger over the 2012–2018 period, it has lessened and become statistically insignificant in the more recent 2019–2021 subsample.

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  • Milunovich, George & Lee, Seung Ah, 2022. "Measuring the impact of digital exchange cyberattacks on Bitcoin Returns," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:221:y:2022:i:c:s0165176522003676
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110893
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    Cited by:

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    3. Chen, Yu-Lun & Chang, Yung Ting & Yang, J. Jimmy, 2023. "Cryptocurrency hacking incidents and the price dynamics of Bitcoin spot and futures," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    4. Mercik, Aleksander & Słoński, Tomasz & Karaś, Marta, 2024. "Understanding crypto-asset exposure: An investigation of its impact on performance and stock sensitivity among listed companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Yousaf, Imran & Pham, Linh & Goodell, John W., 2024. "Dynamic spillovers between leading cryptocurrencies and derivatives tokens: Insights from a quantile VAR approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Wang, Jying-Nan & Vigne, Samuel A. & Liu, Hung-Chun & Hsu, Yuan-Teng, 2024. "Divergent jump characteristics in brown and green cryptocurrencies: The role of energy-related uncertainty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    7. Cheraghali, Hamid & Molnár, Peter & Storsveen, Mattis & Veliqi, Florent, 2024. "The impact of cryptocurrency-related cyberattacks on return, volatility, and trading volume of cryptocurrencies and traditional financial assets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    8. Wang, Jying-Nan & Liu, Hung-Chun & Hsu, Yuan-Teng, 2024. "A U-shaped relationship between the crypto fear-greed index and the price synchronicity of cryptocurrencies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).

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