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Intraday price behavior of cryptocurrencies

Author

Listed:
  • Hu, Bill
  • McInish, Thomas
  • Miller, Jonathan
  • Zeng, Li

Abstract

We are the first to investigate intraday price behavior of cryptocurrencies. Trade prices cluster on round numbers throughout the day. The clustering increases with price level and pricing uncertainty. There is also strategic pricing at just below or above round numbers. At the transaction level, we find that prices are mainly formed due to negotiations and strategic trading, instead of based on psychologically appealing numbers in the order of 0, 5, and others.

Suggested Citation

  • Hu, Bill & McInish, Thomas & Miller, Jonathan & Zeng, Li, 2019. "Intraday price behavior of cryptocurrencies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 337-342.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:28:y:2019:i:c:p:337-342
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2018.06.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Katsiampa, Paraskevi & Yarovaya, Larisa & Zięba, Damian, 2022. "High-frequency connectedness between Bitcoin and other top-traded crypto assets during the COVID-19 crisis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Telli, Şahin & Zhao, Xufeng, 2023. "Clustering in Bitcoin balance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    3. 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.
    4. Donglian Ma & Pengxiang Zhai, 2021. "The Accuracy of the Tick Rule in the Bitcoin Market," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, May.
    5. Walid Mensi & Mobeen Ur Rehman & Muhammad Shafiullah & Khamis Hamed Al-Yahyaee & Ahmet Sensoy, 2021. "High frequency multiscale relationships among major cryptocurrencies: portfolio management implications," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Ahmed, Walid M.A., 2021. "Stock market reactions to upside and downside volatility of Bitcoin: A quantile analysis," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    7. Angerer, Martin & Hoffmann, Christian Hugo & Neitzert, Florian & Kraus, Sascha, 2021. "Objective and subjective risks of investing into cryptocurrencies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    8. Donglian Ma & Hisashi Tanizaki, 2022. "Intraday patterns of price clustering in Bitcoin," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-25, December.
    9. Jia, Yuecheng & Liu, Yuzheng & Yan, Shu, 2021. "Higher moments, extreme returns, and cross–section of cryptocurrency returns," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    10. Hu, Bill & Hwang, Joon Ho & Jiang, Christine & Washam, Jim & Zeng, Li, 2022. "Down to the cents: The case of international drug prices," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    11. Ahmed, Walid M.A. & Al Mafrachi, Mustafa, 2021. "Do higher-order realized moments matter for cryptocurrency returns?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 483-499.
    12. Vladim'ir Hol'y & Petra Tomanov'a, 2021. "Modeling Price Clustering in High-Frequency Prices," Papers 2102.12112, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2021.
    13. Hachicha, Fatma & Masmoudi, Afif & Abid, Ilyes & Obeid, Hassan, 2023. "Herding behavior in exploring the predictability of price clustering in cryptocurrency market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    14. Quiroga-Garcia, Raquel & Pariente-Martinez, Natalia & Arenas-Parra, Mar, 2022. "Evidence for round number effects in cryptocurrencies prices," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    15. Wang, Jying-Nan & Liu, Hung-Chun & Hsu, Yuan-Teng, 2020. "Time-of-day periodicities of trading volume and volatility in Bitcoin exchange: Does the stock market matter?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    16. Ahmed, Walid M.A., 2020. "Is there a risk-return trade-off in cryptocurrency markets? The case of Bitcoin," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    17. Abubakr Naeem, Muhammad & Iqbal, Najaf & Lucey, Brian M. & Karim, Sitara, 2022. "Good versus bad information transmission in the cryptocurrency market: Evidence from high-frequency data," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    18. Bouri, Elie & Lau, Chi Keung Marco & Saeed, Tareq & Wang, Shixuan & Zhao, Yuqian, 2021. "On the intraday return curves of Bitcoin: Predictability and trading opportunities," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cryptocurrency; Price clustering; Negotiation; Strategic trading;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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