IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finsta/v70y2024ics1572308923001055.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hedging inflation expectations in the cryptocurrency futures market

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Jinan
  • Valcarcel, Victor J.

Abstract

This paper finds the first evidence of time variation in the relationship between inflation expectations and the price of cryptocurrency futures. Daily data on the futures markets of Bitcoin – starting in December 2017 – and Ethereum – available since February 2021 – reveal responses to inflation expectations that are consistently positive across both measures in a full sample encompassing 2022. These results hold for a sample that precedes the Luna crash in May 13, 2022. However, the response turns negative in the period between the failures of the Luna and FTX crypto exchanges. We find cryptocurrency futures provide an effective hedge against inflation expectations and may provide a hedge against idiosyncratic market risk if the ensuing uncertainty is embraced by traders leading them to search-for-yield behavior. Risk that is more systemic – and not properly digested by financial markets – may lead futures contract holders to exit their positions ahead of expiration, leading to a bid down of futures prices and an erosion of their hedging ability. This may have contributed to the turbulence in cryptocurrencies experienced during the latter part of 2022.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Jinan & Valcarcel, Victor J., 2024. "Hedging inflation expectations in the cryptocurrency futures market," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finsta:v:70:y:2024:i:c:s1572308923001055
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfs.2023.101205
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1572308923001055
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jfs.2023.101205?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Engle, Robert F. & Kroner, Kenneth F., 1995. "Multivariate Simultaneous Generalized ARCH," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 122-150, February.
    2. Conlon, Thomas & Corbet, Shaen & McGee, Richard J., 2021. "Inflation and cryptocurrencies revisited: A time-scale analysis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    3. Jinan Liu & Apostolos Serletis, 2019. "Volatility in the Cryptocurrency Market," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 779-811, September.
    4. Bartosz Mackowiak & Mirko Wiederholt, 2009. "Optimal Sticky Prices under Rational Inattention," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(3), pages 769-803, June.
    5. Demir, Ender & Gozgor, Giray & Lau, Chi Keung Marco & Vigne, Samuel A., 2018. "Does economic policy uncertainty predict the Bitcoin returns? An empirical investigation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 145-149.
    6. Glasserman, Paul & Mamaysky, Harry, 2019. "Does Unusual News Forecast Market Stress?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(5), pages 1937-1974, October.
    7. Kevin B. Grier & Ólan T. Henry & Nilss Olekalns & Kalvinder Shields, 2004. "The asymmetric effects of uncertainty on inflation and output growth," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(5), pages 551-565.
    8. Jinan Liu & Apostolos Serletis, 2019. "Volatility in the Cryptocurrency Market," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 779-811, September.
    9. Conlon, Thomas & McGee, Richard, 2020. "Safe haven or risky hazard? Bitcoin during the Covid-19 bear market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    10. Rahman, Sajjadur & Serletis, Apostolos, 2012. "Oil price uncertainty and the Canadian economy: Evidence from a VARMA, GARCH-in-Mean, asymmetric BEKK model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 603-610.
    11. Lee, Bong-Soo, 1995. "The Response of Stock Prices to Permanent and Temporary Shocks to Dividends," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(1), pages 1-22, March.
    12. Choi, Sangyup & Shin, Junhyeok, 2022. "Bitcoin: An inflation hedge but not a safe haven," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    13. Bouri, Elie & Molnár, Peter & Azzi, Georges & Roubaud, David & Hagfors, Lars Ivar, 2017. "On the hedge and safe haven properties of Bitcoin: Is it really more than a diversifier?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 192-198.
    14. Andrew Vivian & Mark Wohar, 2010. "UK stock price effects of permanent and transitory shocks," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(7), pages 641-656.
    15. Blau, Benjamin M. & Griffith, Todd G. & Whitby, Ryan J., 2021. "Inflation and Bitcoin: A descriptive time-series analysis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    16. Akanksha Jalan & Roman Matkovskyy & Andrew Urquhart, 2021. "What effect did the introduction of Bitcoin futures have on the Bitcoin spot market?," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(13), pages 1251-1281, September.
    17. Baur, Dirk G. & Dimpfl, Thomas & Kuck, Konstantin, 2018. "Bitcoin, gold and the US dollar – A replication and extension," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 103-110.
    18. Dyhrberg, Anne Haubo, 2016. "Bitcoin, gold and the dollar – A GARCH volatility analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 85-92.
    19. Bessembinder, Hendrik & Seguin, Paul J, 1992. "Futures-Trading Activity and Stock Price Volatility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(5), pages 2015-2034, December.
    20. Gary B. Gorton & Fumio Hayashi & K. Geert Rouwenhorst, 2013. "The Fundamentals of Commodity Futures Returns," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 17(1), pages 35-105.
    21. Acharya, Viral V. & Lochstoer, Lars A. & Ramadorai, Tarun, 2013. "Limits to arbitrage and hedging: Evidence from commodity markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(2), pages 441-465.
    22. Chatziantoniou, Ioannis & Duffy, David & Filis, George, 2013. "Stock market response to monetary and fiscal policy shocks: Multi-country evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 754-769.
    23. Valcarcel, Victor J., 2012. "The dynamic adjustments of stock prices to inflation disturbances," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 117-144.
    24. Sims, Christopher A., 2003. "Implications of rational inattention," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 665-690, April.
    25. Dyhrberg, Anne Haubo, 2016. "Hedging capabilities of bitcoin. Is it the virtual gold?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 139-144.
    26. Smales, L.A., 2019. "Bitcoin as a safe haven: Is it even worth considering?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 385-393.
    27. Sims, Christopher A., 2010. "Rational Inattention and Monetary Economics," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: Benjamin M. Friedman & Michael Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 4, pages 155-181, Elsevier.
    28. David Hirshleifer, 1988. "Residual Risk, Trading Costs, and Commodity Futures Risk Premia," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 1(2), pages 173-193.
    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. Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh, 2024. "Comparative Analysis of Gold, Art, and Wheat as Inflation Hedges," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-24, June.

    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. Ma, Chaoqun & Tian, Yonggang & Hsiao, Shisong & Deng, Liurui, 2022. "Monetary policy shocks and Bitcoin prices," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    2. Hsu, Shu-Han & Sheu, Chwen & Yoon, Jiho, 2021. "Risk spillovers between cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies and gold under different global economic conditions," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    3. Choi, Sangyup & Shin, Junhyeok, 2022. "Bitcoin: An inflation hedge but not a safe haven," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    4. Nedved, Martin & Kristoufek, Ladislav, 2023. "Safe havens for Bitcoin," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    5. Long, Shaobo & Pei, Hongxia & Tian, Hao & Lang, Kun, 2021. "Can both Bitcoin and gold serve as safe-haven assets? — A comparative analysis based on the NARDL model," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Aurelio F. Bariviera & Ignasi Merediz‐Solà, 2021. "Where Do We Stand In Cryptocurrencies Economic Research? A Survey Based On Hybrid Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 377-407, April.
    7. Ihsan Erdem Kayral & Ahmed Jeribi & Sahar Loukil, 2023. "Are Bitcoin and Gold a Safe Haven during COVID-19 and the 2022 Russia–Ukraine War?," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-22, April.
    8. Goodell, John W. & Goutte, Stephane, 2021. "Co-movement of COVID-19 and Bitcoin: Evidence from wavelet coherence analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    9. Flori, Andrea, 2019. "News and subjective beliefs: A Bayesian approach to Bitcoin investments," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 336-356.
    10. 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.
    11. Noman, Abu Hanifa Md & Karim, Muhammad Mahmudul & Hassan, Mohammad Kabir & Khan, Muhammad Asif & Pervin, Sajeda, 2023. "COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamics of major investable assets: What gives shelter to investors?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 14-30.
    12. Klein, Tony & Pham Thu, Hien & Walther, Thomas, 2018. "Bitcoin is not the New Gold – A comparison of volatility, correlation, and portfolio performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 105-116.
    13. Ustaoglu, Erkan, 2022. "Safe-haven properties and portfolio applications of cryptocurrencies: Evidence from the emerging markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    14. Fatma Abdelkaoui & Ali Sidaoui & Feriel Nasser & Meriem Bouzidi, 2024. "Cryptocurrency and Macroeconomic Dynamics: Case of 10 Asian Economies," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 13(1), pages 100-126, June.
    15. Didik Susilo & Sugeng Wahyudi & Irene Rini Demi Pangestuti & Bayu Adi Nugroho & Robiyanto Robiyanto, 2020. "Cryptocurrencies: Hedging Opportunities From Domestic Perspectives in Southeast Asia Emerging Markets," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, November.
    16. Al-Shboul, Mohammad & Assaf, Ata & Mokni, Khaled, 2022. "When bitcoin lost its position: Cryptocurrency uncertainty and the dynamic spillover among cryptocurrencies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    17. 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.
    18. Panagiotidis, Theodore & Stengos, Thanasis & Vravosinos, Orestis, 2019. "The effects of markets, uncertainty and search intensity on bitcoin returns," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 220-242.
    19. Kyriazis, Nikolaos & Papadamou, Stephanos & Tzeremes, Panayiotis & Corbet, Shaen, 2023. "Can cryptocurrencies provide a viable hedging mechanism for benchmark index investors?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    20. 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).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bitcoin futures; Cryptocurrencies; Inflation expectations; Local projections; GARCH-in-Mean; Structural VAR;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates

    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:eee:finsta:v:70:y:2024:i:c:s1572308923001055. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jfstabil .

    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.