Examination of Bitcoin hedging and diversification ability during economic crisis: Evidence from gold, stock, bonds, and exchange-rate markets

This study examines the correlation among Bitcoin (BTC), gold, equity, bonds, and exchange rate volatility in the context of new developments during Russia Ukraine conflict using daily data from January 01, 2018, to May 30, 2023. Three GARCH estimation models are utilized to capture the hedging, diversification, and safe haven properties of Bitcoin in Russian financial market. The results indicate from GJR-GARCH estimation model exhibits that BTC has hedging ability against the bonds and gold that enables investors to diversify the risk among the underline financial assets. In addition, value at risk and conditional value at risk estimations are employed to estimate potential losses in the portfolio during the crisis. The study observes a significant increase in Bitcoin investments during crisis, leading to heightening the volatility and uncertainty where negative news has a stronger impact compared to positive news which underscores the importance of prudent asset allocation for risk mitigation. The study provides notable policy implications within the context of the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine.