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Herding and anchoring in cryptocurrency markets: Investor reaction to fear and uncertainty

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  • Gurdgiev, Constantin
  • O’Loughlin, Daniel

Abstract

Cryptocurrencies have emerged as an innovative alternative investment asset class, traded in data-rich markets by globally distributed investors. Although significant attention has been devoted to their pricing properties, to-date, academic literature on behavioral drivers remains less developed. We explore the question of how price dynamics of cryptocurrencies are influenced by the interaction between behavioral factors behind investor decisions and publicly accessible data flows. We use sentiment analysis to model the effects of public sentiment toward investment markets in general, and cryptocurrencies in particular on crypto assets’ valuations. Our results show that investor sentiment can predict the price direction of cryptocurrencies, indicating direct impact of herding and anchoring biases. We also discuss a new direction for analyzing behavioral drivers of the crypto assets based on the use of natural language AI to extract better quality data on investor sentiment.

Suggested Citation

  • Gurdgiev, Constantin & O’Loughlin, Daniel, 2020. "Herding and anchoring in cryptocurrency markets: Investor reaction to fear and uncertainty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:beexfi:v:25:y:2020:i:c:s2214635019301534
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbef.2020.100271
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cryptocurrencies; Blockchain; Crypto assets; Behavioral finance; Bitcoin; Ripple; Ethereum; Investment markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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