Geopolitical risk, uncertainty and Bitcoin investment

Abstract

We investigate the impact of geopolitical risk, global and US economic policy uncertainty on the structure of Bitcoin correlation with various financial and commodities asset classes. We further investigate the impact of the aforementioned factors on the volatility and risk premium of Bitcoin investment. We find that both geopolitical risk and global economic policy uncertainty command a risk premium, particularly in distress market conditions. Moreover, during the period of high policy uncertainty and worsening economic conditions, Bitcoin investors can only hedge their portfolio with gold, not with other financial assets. Our results highlight that the effect of geopolitical risk, global and US economic policy uncertainty is far more significant during unfavorable economic conditions.