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Are Cryptos Different? Evidence from Retail Trading

Author

Listed:
  • Shimon Kogan
  • Igor Makarov
  • Marina Niessner
  • Antoinette Schoar

Abstract

Trading in cryptocurrencies has grown rapidly over the last decade, primarily dominated by retail investors. Using a dataset of 200,000 retail traders from eToro, we show that they have a different model of the underlying price dynamics in cryptocurrencies relative to other assets. Retail traders in our sample are contrarian in stocks and gold, yet the same traders follow a momentum-like strategy in cryptocurrencies. Individual characteristics do not explain the differences in how people trade cryptocurrencies versus stocks, suggesting that our results are orthogonal to differences in investor composition or clientele effects. Furthermore, our findings are not explained by inattention, differences in fees, or preference for lotterylike stocks. We conjecture that retail investors hold a model of cryptocurrency prices, where price changes imply a change in the likelihood of future widespread adoption, which in turn pushes asset prices further in the same direction.

Suggested Citation

  • Shimon Kogan & Igor Makarov & Marina Niessner & Antoinette Schoar, 2023. "Are Cryptos Different? Evidence from Retail Trading," NBER Working Papers 31317, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31317
    Note: CF
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    Cited by:

    1. Di Casola, Paola & Habib, Maurizio Michael & Tercero-Lucas, David, 2023. "Global and local drivers of Bitcoin trading vis-à-vis fiat currencies," Working Paper Series 2868, European Central Bank.

    More about this item

    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
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets

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