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Are cryptocurrency traders pioneers or just risk-seekers? Evidence from brokerage accounts

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  • Matthias Pelster
  • Bastian Breitmayer
  • Tim Hasso

Abstract

Are cryptocurrency traders driven by a desire to invest in a new asset class to diversify their portfolio or are they merely seeking to increase their levels of risk? To answer this question, we use individual-level brokerage data and study their behavior in stock trading around the time they engage in their first cryptocurrency trade. We find that when engaging in cryptocurrency trading investors simultaneously increase their risk-seeking behavior in stock trading as they increase their trading intensity and use of leverage. The increase in risk-seeking in stocks is particularly pronounced when volatility in cryptocurrency returns is low, suggesting that their overall behavior is driven by excitement-seeking.

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  • Matthias Pelster & Bastian Breitmayer & Tim Hasso, 2019. "Are cryptocurrency traders pioneers or just risk-seekers? Evidence from brokerage accounts," Papers 1906.11968, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:1906.11968
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. C. Baek & M. Elbeck, 2015. "Bitcoins as an investment or speculative vehicle? A first look," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 30-34, January.
    2. Urquhart, Andrew, 2018. "What causes the attention of Bitcoin?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 40-44.
    3. Aaron Yelowitz & Matthew Wilson, 2015. "Characteristics of Bitcoin users: an analysis of Google search data," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(13), pages 1030-1036, September.
    4. Hasso, Tim & Pelster, Matthias & Breitmayer, Bastian, 2019. "Who trades cryptocurrencies, how do they trade it, and how do they perform? Evidence from brokerage accounts," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 64-74.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Yen-Sheng & Vo, Ace & Chapman, Thomas A., 2022. "Examining the Maturity of Bitcoin Price through a Catastrophic Event: The Case of Structural Break Analysis During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    2. Ekrem Tufan & Bahattin Hamarat & Aykut Yalvaç, 2022. "Interrelation of Bitcoin and Some Traditional Assets," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business (continues Analele Stiintifice), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 69(1), pages 145-162, March.
    3. Andrada-Félix, Julián & Fernandez-Perez, Adrian & Sosvilla-Rivero, Simón, 2020. "Distant or close cousins: Connectedness between cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies volatilities," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Gemayel, Roland & Preda, Alex, 2021. "Performance and learning in an ambiguous environment: A study of cryptocurrency traders," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Rehman, Mobeen Ur & Vinh Vo, Xuan, 2020. "Cryptocurrencies and precious metals: A closer look from diversification perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    6. Marwan Mohamed Abdeldayem & Saeed Hameed Al Dulaimi, 2022. "The dynamics of crowdfunding campaigns in the Middle East: Does social capital matter?," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 40(1), pages 63-78.
    7. Crépellière, Tommy & Pelster, Matthias & Zeisberger, Stefan, 2023. "Arbitrage in the market for cryptocurrencies," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Huynh, Nhan & Phan, Hoa, 2023. "Emotions in the crypto market: Do photos really speak?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    9. Almeida, José & Gonçalves, Tiago Cruz, 2023. "A systematic literature review of investor behavior in the cryptocurrency markets," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    10. Li, Yi & Urquhart, Andrew & Wang, Pengfei & Zhang, Wei, 2021. "MAX momentum in cryptocurrency markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    11. 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).
    12. Alexander Guzmán & Christian Pinto-Gutiérrez & María-Andrea Trujillo, 2021. "Trading Cryptocurrencies as a Pandemic Pastime: COVID-19 Lockdowns and Bitcoin Volume," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(15), pages 1-15, July.
    13. Hřebačka, Viktor, 2022. "The impact of provider-specific factors on the profitability of contract for difference traders," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    14. Díaz, Antonio & Esparcia, Carlos & Huélamo, Diego, 2023. "Stablecoins as a tool to mitigate the downside risk of cryptocurrency portfolios," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Hasso, Tim & Müller, Daniel & Pelster, Matthias & Warkulat, Sonja, 2022. "Who participated in the GameStop frenzy? Evidence from brokerage accounts," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    16. Untung Rahardja & Shih-Chih Chen & Yu-Chun Lin & Tsung-Chieh Tsai & Qurotul Aini & Asif Khan & Fitra Putri Oganda & Elisa Royani Dewi & Ying-Chieh Cho & Chung-Hao Hsu, 2023. "Evaluating the Mediating Mechanism of Perceived Trust and Risk toward Cryptocurrency: An Empirical Research," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    17. Tzouvanas, Panagiotis & Kizys, Renatas & Tsend-Ayush, Bayasgalan, 2020. "Momentum trading in cryptocurrencies: Short-term returns and diversification benefits," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

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