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How to measure the liquidity of cryptocurrency markets?

Author

Listed:
  • Brauneis, Alexander
  • Mestel, Roland
  • Riordan, Ryan
  • Theissen, Erik

Abstract

This paper investigates the efficacy of low-frequency transactions-based liquidity measures to describe actual (high-frequency) liquidity. We show that the Corwin and Schultz (2012) and Abdi and Ranaldo (2017) estimators outperform other measures in describing time-series variations, irrespective of the observation frequency, trading venue, high-frequency liquidity benchmark, and cryptocurrency. Both measures perform well during high and low return, volatility and volume periods. The Kyle and Obizhaeva (2016) estimator and the Amihud (2002) illiquidity ratio outperform when estimating liquidity levels. These two estimators also reliably identify liquidity differences between trading venues. Overall, the results suggest that there is not yet a universally bestmeasure but there are reasonably good low-frequency measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Brauneis, Alexander & Mestel, Roland & Riordan, Ryan & Theissen, Erik, 2021. "How to measure the liquidity of cryptocurrency markets?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:124:y:2021:i:c:s0378426620303022
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2020.106041
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Barbon & Angelo Ranaldo, 2021. "On The Quality Of Cryptocurrency Markets: Centralized Versus Decentralized Exchanges," Papers 2112.07386, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.
    2. Zhong, Meirui & Zhang, Rui & Ren, Xiaohang, 2023. "The time-varying effects of liquidity and market efficiency of the European Union carbon market: Evidence from the TVP-SVAR-SV approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    3. Brauneis, Alexander & Mestel, Roland & Riordan, Ryan & Theissen, Erik, 2022. "Bitcoin unchained: Determinants of cryptocurrency exchange liquidity," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 106-122.
    4. Wilkoff, Sean & Yildiz, Serhat, 2023. "The behavior and determinants of illiquidity in the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    5. Foley, Sean & Krekel, William & Mollica, Vito & Svec, Jiri, 2023. "Not so fast: Identifying and remediating slow and imprecise cryptocurrency exchange data," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    6. Greppmair, Stefan & Theissen, Erik, 2022. "Small is beautiful? How the introduction of mini futures contracts affects the regular contracts," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 19-38.
    7. Ao Shu & Feiyang Cheng & Jianlei Han & Zini Liang & Zheyao Pan, 2023. "Arbitrage across different Bitcoin exchange venues: Perspectives from investor base and market related events," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(5), pages 5183-5210, December.
    8. Li, Leon & Miu, Peter, 2023. "Are cryptocurrencies a safe haven for stock investors? A regime-switching approach," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 367-385.
    9. Daniele Bianchi & Mykola Babiak, 2021. "A Factor Model for Cryptocurrency Returns," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp710, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    10. Leirvik, Thomas, 2022. "Cryptocurrency returns and the volatility of liquidity," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    11. Moreno, David & Antoli, Marcos & Quintana, David, 2022. "Benefits of investing in cryptocurrencies when liquidity is a factor," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    12. Alexander, Carol & Deng, Jun & Feng, Jianfen & Wan, Huning, 2023. "Net buying pressure and the information in bitcoin option trades," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    13. Tomé Lima & Helder Sebastião, 2023. "Native Market Factors for Pricing Cryptocurrencies," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 57, pages 71-85, December.
    14. Ozkan Haykir & Ibrahim Yagli, 2022. "Speculative bubbles and herding in cryptocurrencies," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-33, December.
    15. Carol Alexander & Jun Deng & Jianfen Feng & Huning Wan, 2021. "Net Buying Pressure and the Information in Bitcoin Option Trades," Papers 2109.02776, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2022.
    16. Dong, Bingbing & Jiang, Lei & Liu, Jinyu & Zhu, Yifeng, 2022. "Liquidity in the cryptocurrency market and commonalities across anomalies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    17. Zhang, Wei & Li, Yi & Xiong, Xiong & Wang, Pengfei, 2021. "Downside risk and the cross-section of cryptocurrency returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    18. Tang, Tao & Wang, Yanchen, 2022. "Liquidity Shocks, Price Volatilities, and Risk-managed Strategy: Evidence from Bitcoin and Beyond," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    19. Kumar Kulbhaskar, Anamika & Subramaniam, Sowmya, 2023. "Breaking news headlines: Impact on trading activity in the cryptocurrency market," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    20. Abakah, Emmanuel Joel Aikins & Wali Ullah, GM & Adekoya, Oluwasegun B. & Osei Bonsu, Christiana & Abdullah, Mohammad, 2023. "Blockchain market and eco-friendly financial assets: Dynamic price correlation, connectedness and spillovers with portfolio implications," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 218-243.
    21. Nikolaos A. Kyriazis, 2021. "The Nexus of Sophisticated Digital Assets with Economic Policy Uncertainty: A Survey of Empirical Findings and an Empirical Investigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-25, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cryptocurrencies; Liquidity; Capital markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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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