Portfolio diversification across cryptocurrencies

Abstract Utilizing the empirical data of ten major cryptocurrencies, this article examines the investablitiy and role of diversification in cryptocurrency market, and evaluates the out-of-sample performance of commonly used asset allocation models across cryptocurrencies. We show that portfolio diversification across different cryptocurrencies can significantly improve the investment results. We also find robust evidence that the maximum utility model dominates the out-of-sample utility, although none of the models can consistently beat the naive 1/N portfolio in Sharpe ratio.

[1]  Kai Zimmermann,et al.  Bitcoin - Asset or Currency? Revealing Users' Hidden Intentions , 2014, ECIS.

[2]  Shelton Peiris,et al.  On long memory effects in the volatility measure of Cryptocurrencies , 2019 .

[3]  S. Corbet,et al.  Exploring the Dynamic Relationships between Cryptocurrencies and Other Financial Assets , 2017 .

[4]  A. H. Dyhrberg Bitcoin, gold and the dollar – A GARCH volatility analysis , 2016 .

[5]  Victor DeMiguel,et al.  Optimal Versus Naive Diversification: How Inefficient is the 1/N Portfolio Strategy? , 2009 .

[6]  Andrew Urquhart Price clustering in Bitcoin , 2017 .

[7]  A. F. Bariviera The Inefficiency of Bitcoin Revisited: A Dynamic Approach , 2017, 1709.08090.

[8]  A. Ibáñez,et al.  Semi-strong efficiency of Bitcoin , 2018, Finance Research Letters.

[9]  M. Elbeck,et al.  Bitcoins as an investment or speculative vehicle? A first look , 2015 .

[10]  L Nyström,et al.  Statistical Analysis , 2008, Encyclopedia of Social Network Analysis and Mining.

[11]  Denis B. Chaves,et al.  Risk Parity Portfolio vs. Other Asset Allocation Heuristic Portfolios , 2011, The Journal of Investing.

[12]  Konstantinos Gkillas,et al.  An application of extreme value theory to cryptocurrencies , 2018 .

[13]  Paraskevi Katsiampa Volatility estimation for Bitcoin: A comparison of GARCH models , 2017 .

[14]  Andrew Urquhart The Inefficiency of Bitcoin , 2016 .

[15]  S. Nadarajah,et al.  A Statistical Analysis of Cryptocurrencies , 2017 .

[16]  Roland Mestel,et al.  Price discovery of cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and beyond , 2018 .

[17]  Youssef El-Khatib,et al.  Portfolio selection: An alternative approach , 2015 .

[18]  G. Hunanyan,et al.  Portfolio Selection , 2019, Finanzwirtschaft, Banken und Bankmanagement I Finance, Banks and Bank Management.

[19]  Thomas S. Kim On the transaction cost of Bitcoin , 2017 .

[20]  S. Nadarajah,et al.  On the inefficiency of Bitcoin , 2017 .