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On a regime switching illiquid high volatile prediction model for cryptocurrencies

Youssef El-Khatib (Department of Mathematical Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
Abdulnasser Hatemi-J (Department of Economics and Finance, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)

Journal of Economic Studies

ISSN: 0144-3585

Article publication date: 11 July 2023

Issue publication date: 16 February 2024

110

Abstract

Purpose

The current paper proposes a prediction model for a cryptocurrency that encompasses three properties observed in the markets for cryptocurrencies—namely high volatility, illiquidity, and regime shifts. As far as the authors’ knowledge extends, this paper is the first attempt to introduce a stochastic differential equation (SDE) for pricing cryptocurrencies while explicitly integrating the mentioned three significant stylized facts.

Design/methodology/approach

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly utilized by investors and financial institutions worldwide as an alternative means of exchange. To the authors’ best knowledge, there is no SDE in the literature that can be used for representing and evaluating the data-generating process for the price of a cryptocurrency.

Findings

By using Ito calculus, the authors provide a solution for the suggested SDE along with mathematical proof. Numerical simulations are performed and compared to the real data, which seems to capture the dynamics of the price path of two main cryptocurrencies in the real markets.

Originality/value

The stochastic differential model that is introduced and solved in this article is expected to be useful for the pricing of cryptocurrencies in situations of high volatility combined with structural changes and illiquidity. These attributes are apparent in the real markets for cryptocurrencies; therefore, accounting explicitly for these underlying characteristics is a necessary condition for accurate evaluation of cryptocurrencies.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Previous versions of this paper were presented in the following conferences: (1) 10th Asian Management Research and Case Conference, 2022, Al Ain, UAE. It obtained the best paper award. (2) The 6th Equal Opportunities Conference “Sustainable Leadership and Technology Innovation Management”, 2023, Manama, Bahrain. The authors are grateful to the participants of the conferences for their comments. The authors also received constructive remarks from the editor of this journal Mohsen Bahmani-Oskooee and two anonymous reviewers that improved the paper significantly. The usual disclaimer applies, however.

Citation

El-Khatib, Y. and Hatemi-J, A. (2024), "On a regime switching illiquid high volatile prediction model for cryptocurrencies", Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 51 No. 2, pp. 485-498. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-03-2023-0134

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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