IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecofin/v80y2025ics1062940825001378.html

Who A(m) I? exploring quantile frequency connectedness in emerging AI and IoT token markets

Author

Listed:
  • Aharon, David Y.
  • Ali, Shoaib
  • Naveed, Muhammad

Abstract

This paper investigates the return spillover and connectedness between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) tokens using the Quantile Vector Autoregression (QVAR) and quantile frequency connectedness approach. Using daily data from February 2021 to March 2024 for ten leading AI and IoT tokens, we find that connectedness is both time-varying and asymmetric across quantiles. In the short term, the Total Connectedness Index (TCI) peaks at 69.58 % under extreme market conditions (τ = 0.05), compared to 64.16 % in bull markets (τ = 0.95) and 61.43 % under normal conditions (τ = 0.50). Connectedness is weaker in the medium and long terms, but asymmetry persists as the TCI reaches 10.98 % vs. 5.32 % (medium term) and 10.52 % vs. 2.64 % (long term) for extreme vs. normal quantiles. These findings confirm that return transmission intensifies during periods of elevated market uncertainty, particularly in the left tail of the distribution. Moreover, AI and IOT tokens offer both diversification and hedging benefits against each other. Our analysis provides insights for investors, portfolio managers, and policymakers in understanding systemic risk and optimizing digital asset portfolios.

Suggested Citation

  • Aharon, David Y. & Ali, Shoaib & Naveed, Muhammad, 2025. "Who A(m) I? exploring quantile frequency connectedness in emerging AI and IoT token markets," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecofin:v:80:y:2025:i:c:s1062940825001378
    DOI: 10.1016/j.najef.2025.102497
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1062940825001378
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.najef.2025.102497?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aharon, David Y. & Ali, Shoaib & Brahim, Mariem, 2024. "Connectedness at extremes between real estate tokens and real estate stocks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    2. Assaf, Ata & Demir, Ender & Mokni, Khaled, 2024. "Exploring connectedness among cryptocurrency, technology communication, and FinTech through dynamic and fractal analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    3. Bouteska, Ahmed & Sharif, Taimur & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul, 2023. "Volatility spillovers and other dynamics between cryptocurrencies and the energy and bond markets," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1-13.
    4. Yousaf, Imran & Zeitun, Rami & Ali, Shoaib & Palma, Alessia, 2024. "Impact of tokenization on financial investments: Exploring connectedness through the case of transport and travel/tourism sectors," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    5. Yadav, Mikesh Prasad & Pandey, Asheesh & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Arya, Vandana & Mishra, Nandita, 2023. "Volatility spillover of green bond with renewable energy and crypto market," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 928-939.
    6. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Boubaker, Sabri & Lucey, Brian M. & Sensoy, Ahmet, 2021. "Is gold a hedge or a safe-haven asset in the COVID–19 crisis?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    7. Waqas Hanif & Hee-Un Ko & Linh Pham & Sang Hoon Kang, 2023. "Dynamic connectedness and network in the high moments of cryptocurrency, stock, and commodity markets," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-40, December.
    8. Bouri, Elie & Jalkh, Naji, 2023. "Spillovers of joint volatility-skewness-kurtosis of major cryptocurrencies and their determinants," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Vidal-Tomás, David, 2022. "The new crypto niche: NFTs, play-to-earn, and metaverse tokens," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    10. Ali, Shoaib & Umar, Muhammad & Gubareva, Mariya & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2024. "Extreme connectedness between NFTs and US equity market: A sectoral analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 299-315.
    11. Abdullah, Mohammad & Adeabah, David & Abakah, Emmanuel Joel Aikins & Lee, Chi-Chuan, 2023. "Extreme return and volatility connectedness among real estate tokens, REITs, and other assets: The role of global factors and portfolio implications," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    12. Yousaf, Imran & Cui, Jinxin & Ali, Shoaib, 2024. "Dynamic spillover between green cryptocurrencies and stocks: A portfolio implication," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    13. Ali, Shoaib & Naveed, Muhammad & Yousaf, Imran & Khattak, Muhammad Sualeh, 2024. "From cryptos to consciousness: Dynamics of return and volatility spillover between green cryptocurrencies and G7 markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    14. Osman, Myriam Ben & Galariotis, Emilios & Guesmi, Khaled & Hamdi, Haykel & Naoui, Kamel, 2023. "Diversification in financial and crypto markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Amira Said & Chokri Ouerfelli, 2024. "Downside risk in Dow Jones equity markets: hedging and portfolio management during COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine war," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(3), pages 443-470, March.
    16. Khan, Imran & Khan, Inayat & Ikram, Rana Muhammad Adnan & Ali, Mohammad Ajmal, 2024. "Integrating FinTech with Industry 4.0 for sustainable mineral resource management: Exploring the interplay of technology, regulation, and economic dynamics," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    17. Mehmet Balcilar & Zeynel Abidin Ozdemir & Huseyin Ozdemir, 2021. "Dynamic return and volatility spillovers among S&P 500, crude oil, and gold," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 153-170, January.
    18. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Banerjee, Ameet Kumar & Boubaker, Sabri & Moussa, Faten, 2023. "Does green improve portfolio optimisation?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    19. Gunay, Samet & Kaskaloglu, Kerem, 2022. "Does utilizing smart contracts induce a financial connectedness between Ethereum and non-fungible tokens?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Abakah, Emmanuel Joel Aikins & Adewuyi, Adeolu O. & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "Quantile risk spillovers between energy and agricultural commodity markets: Evidence from pre and during COVID-19 outbreak," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    21. Yousaf, Imran & Youssef, Manel & Goodell, John W., 2024. "Tail connectedness between artificial intelligence tokens, artificial intelligence ETFs, and traditional asset classes," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    22. 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).
    23. David Korsah & Lord Mensah, 2023. "Geopolitical risk, economic policy uncertainty, financial stress and stock returns nexus: evidence from African stock markets," Journal of Capital Markets Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(1), pages 25-42, November.
    24. Shaen Corbet & John W. Goodell & Samet Gunay & Kerem Kaskaloglu, 2023. "Are DeFi tokens a separate asset class from conventional cryptocurrencies?," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 322(2), pages 609-630, March.
    25. Jozef Baruník & Tomáš Křehlík, 2018. "Measuring the Frequency Dynamics of Financial Connectedness and Systemic Risk," Journal of Financial Econometrics, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 271-296.
    26. Ali, Shoaib & Cui, Jinxin, 2025. "Beyond averages: Quantile connectedness between G7 equity markets and derivative tokens," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    27. Muhammad Naveed & Shoaib Ali & Aviral Kumar Tiwari, 2025. "Tracing the ties that bind: navigating the static and dynamic connectedness between NFTs and equity markets in ASEAN based on QVAR-approach," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, December.
    28. Yousaf, Imran & Pham, Linh & Goodell, John W., 2023. "Interconnectedness between healthcare tokens and healthcare stocks: Evidence from a quantile VAR approach," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 271-283.
    29. Aharon, David Y. & Butt, Hassan Anjum & Jaffri, Ali & Nichols, Brian, 2023. "Asymmetric volatility in the cryptocurrency market: New evidence from models with structural breaks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    30. Tomohiro Ando & Matthew Greenwood-Nimmo & Yongcheol Shin, 2022. "Quantile Connectedness: Modeling Tail Behavior in the Topology of Financial Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(4), pages 2401-2431, April.
    31. Syuhada, Khreshna & Hakim, Arief & Suprijanto, Djoko & Muchtadi-Alamsyah, Intan & Arbi, Lukman, 2022. "Is Tether a safe haven of safe haven amid COVID-19? An assessment against Bitcoin and oil using improved measures of risk," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    32. David C. Broadstock & Ioannis Chatziantoniou & David Gabauer, 2022. "Minimum Connectedness Portfolios and the Market for Green Bonds: Advocating Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Activity," Springer Books, in: Christos Floros & Ioannis Chatziantoniou (ed.), Applications in Energy Finance, chapter 0, pages 217-253, Springer.
    33. Khalfaoui, Rabeh & Hammoudeh, Shawkat & Rehman, Mohd Ziaur, 2023. "Spillovers and connectedness among BRICS stock markets, cryptocurrencies, and uncertainty: Evidence from the quantile vector autoregression network," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    34. Jareño, Francisco & Yousaf, Imran, 2023. "Artificial intelligence-based tokens: Fresh evidence of connectedness with artificial intelligence-based equities," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    35. Rabeh Khalfaoui & Shawkat Hammoudeh & Mohd Ziaur Rehman, 2023. "Spillovers and connectedness among BRICS stock markets, cryptocurrencies, and uncertainty: Evidence from the quantile vector autoregression network," Post-Print hal-03998222, HAL.
    36. Ederington, Louis H, 1979. "The Hedging Performance of the New Futures Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 34(1), pages 157-170, March.
    37. Ugolini, Andrea & Reboredo, Juan C. & Mensi, Walid, 2023. "Connectedness between DeFi, cryptocurrency, stock, and safe-haven assets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    38. Lei, Lei & Aziz, Ghazala & Sarwar, Suleman & Waheed, Rida & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar, 2023. "Spillover and portfolio analysis for oil and stock market: A new insight across financial crisis, COVID-19 and Russian-Ukraine war," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    39. Chen, Yan & Bellavitis, Cristiano, 2020. "Blockchain disruption and decentralized finance: The rise of decentralized business models," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 13(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Mbarek, Marouene & Msolli, Badreddine, 2025. "Assessing linkages between supply chain tokens and other assets: Evidence from a time-frequency quantile connectedness approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    2. Mbarek, Marouene & Msolli, Badreddine, 2025. "Tokens and cryptocurrencies: Evidence from asymmetric frequency connectedness approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(PA).
    3. Su, Xianfang & Zhao, Yachao, 2025. "Can fourth industrial revolution assets provide diversification benefits for traditional sectoral stocks? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Yousaf, Imran & Cui, Jinxin & Ali, Shoaib, 2024. "Dynamic spillover between green cryptocurrencies and stocks: A portfolio implication," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    5. Alharbi, Samar S. & Naveed, Muhammad & Ali, Shoaib & Moussa, Faten, 2025. "Sailing towards sustainability: Connectedness between ESG stocks and green cryptocurrencies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    6. Abdullah, Mohammad & Sarker, Provash Kumer & Abakah, Emmanuel Joel Aikins & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Rehman, Mohd Ziaur, 2024. "Tail risk intersection between tech-tokens and tech-stocks," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    7. Hoque, Mohammad Enamul & Soo-Wah, Low & Billah, Mabruk, 2023. "Time-frequency connectedness and spillover among carbon, climate, and energy futures: Determinants and portfolio risk management implications," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    8. Zhang, Yulian & Hamori, Shigeyuki, 2025. "Portfolio implications based on quantile connectedness among cryptocurrency, stock, energy, and safe-haven assets," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    9. Ali, Shoaib & Al-Nassar, Nassar S. & Sindhu, Muzammal Ilyas & Naveed, Muhammad, 2025. "Sustainable synergy: Static and dynamic nexus between ESG and BRICS equity markets," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Wei, Yu & Wang, Yizhi & Vigne, Samuel A. & Ma, Zhenyu, 2023. "Alarming contagion effects: The dangerous ripple effect of extreme price spillovers across crude oil, carbon emission allowance, and agriculture futures markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    11. Wang, Wei & Enilov, Martin & Stankov, Petar, 2025. "Can cryptocurrency or gold rescue BRICS stocks amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    12. Su, Xianfang & Zhao, Yachao, 2023. "What has the strongest connectedness with clean energy? Technology, substitutes, or raw materials," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    13. Ren, Xiaohang & Li, Jingyao & Duan, Kun & Parhi, Mamata, 2025. "Cross-category spillovers of uncertainties in energy transition: Insights from a full-distributional framework," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    14. Patel, Ritesh & Kumar, Sanjeev & Agnihotri, Shalini, 2025. "Unveiling the crypto-green nexus: A risk management and investment strategy approach through the lens of NFTs, DeFis, green cryptocurrencies, and green investments," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(PA).
    15. Olfa El Aoun, 2026. "Market-specific connectedness behaviors across quantiles and frequencies connectedness patterns among G7 markets, commodities, bitcoin, and interest rate spread," Digital Finance, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-45, March.
    16. Hoque, Mohammad Enamul & Sahabuddin, Mohammad & Bilgili, Faik, 2024. "Volatility interconnectedness among financial and geopolitical markets: Evidence from COVID-19 and Ukraine-Russia crises," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 303-320.
    17. Billah, Mabruk & Enamul Hoque, Mohammad & Hadhri, Sinda & Do, Hung Xuan, 2025. "Tail risk connectedness between DeFi and Islamic assets and their determinants," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    18. Mensi, Walid & Belghouthi, Houssem Eddine & Al-Kharusi, Sami & Kang, Sang Hoon, 2025. "Tail risk contagion and connectedness between clean cryptocurrency, green assets and commodity markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    19. Nasir, Rana Muhammad & He, Feng & Yousaf, Imran, 2025. "Relationship of green cryptocurrencies, energy tokens, centralized and decentralized exchange tokens with crypto policy uncertainty," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    20. Yousaf, Imran & Zeitun, Rami & Ali, Shoaib & Palma, Alessia, 2024. "Impact of tokenization on financial investments: Exploring connectedness through the case of transport and travel/tourism sectors," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:ecofin:v:80:y:2025:i:c:s1062940825001378. 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/inca/620163 .

    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.