Abstract:

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies. It is an algorithm that maintains and confirms data without the use of a central database in the blockchain system. Cryptocurrencies have emerged as an alternative to the existing money market for purposes such as decentralized money, low transaction costs and fast fund transfer. Over time, it has been seen that the crypto market also exhibits alternative features to the capital markets. In this study, the volatility spillover between cryptocurrencies and stock exchanges is examined. In the study, bitcoin, etherium, litecoin and ripple were used to represent cryptocurrencies, while S&P500 (USA), DAX (Germany), Shanghai (China) and BIST100 (Turkey) indices were used to represent stock markets. The study period was formed as 24 August 2016 – 18 November 2021 and the volatility spillover was investigated with the Diebold and Yılmaz (2012) spillover index. In the study, it was observed that there is a bidirectional volatility spillover between stock market index and cryptocurrency returns. Looking at the net volatility spillover, it is understood that the S&P500 index is a volatility emitter in the sample, followed by etherium and bitcoin. On the other hand, it has been determined that Shanghai, BIST100 and DAX indices are volatility receivers, followed by litecoin and ripple. In the study, it was also understood that the volatility spillover index increased significantly during the COVID-19 epidemic period, and that the volatility spillover index started to decrease again with the COVID-19 vaccination process.

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