Cryptocurrencies against stock market risk: New insights into hedging effectiveness

This study examines the role of cryptocurrencies as a hedging and safe-haven instrument against stock market risk. Employing five of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization: BTC, ETH, BNB, ADA, and XRP, from 2017 to 2022 in a variance-optimal hedging framework we investigate and compare the hedging effectiveness of cryptocurrencies for the developed G7 and emerging BRICS stock markets. Based on EVT we introduced a new approach to the assessment of hedging effectiveness. We found that the probability of at least 10-percent hedging effectiveness of Bitcoin is approximately equal to zero. The conditional probability that Bitcoin can reduce at least 10% of volatility given that index returns fall below the 1st percentile is higher and ranges from 2% to 28.4% depending on the stock market. The probabilities estimated for other cryptocurrencies are lower. We provide new and valuable knowledge for investors, who consider cryptocurrencies as a shelter for their investment portfolios.