Announcement effects in the cryptocurrency market

Cryptocurrencies have gained popularity as new economic investment assets globally in recent years. This study examines market reactions to major news events associated with cryptocurrencies. Abnormal returns as well as cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) around major news announcements, both positive and negative, are investigated for three primary cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple. High abnormal returns are observed on the event day (Day 0), and CARs typically diverge during event windows of (-3, 6) and (0, 6), indicating that the information is not fully reflected in prices immediately after the news events. The CARs that linger for six days after an event suggest that the information flow in the cryptocurrency market is visibly slow. The magnitudes of CARs are larger for negative events than for positive events, implying that the market reaction to negative events is stronger than to positive announcements. The findings of this study may have crucial implications for investors, arbitragers and practitioners as we document evidence of potential trading opportunities for investors who initiate a trading position even after announcements.