Can cryptocurrencies be a safe haven during the novel COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from the Tunisian Stock Market

Ahmed Jeribi; Yasmin  Snene Manzli

doi:10.30585/jrems.v3i1.555

Authors

Ahmed Jeribi Faculty of Economics and Management of Mahdia, Université de Monastir, Tunisia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3029-1585
Yasmin Snene Manzli Faculty of Economics and Management of Mahdia, Université de Monastir, Tunisia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30585/jrems.v3i1.555

Keywords:

Tunisian stock market, cryptocurrencies, Gold, VIX, WTI, COVID-19, OLS regression

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the behavior of stock market returns in Tunisia during the COVID-19 outbreak. Using the OLS regression, we find that Bitcoin act as a hedge and Ethereum as a diversifier for Tunisia’s stock market before the COVID-19 outbreak; however, Bitcoin and Ethereum cannot generate benefits from portfolio diversification and hedging strategies for financial investors during the COVID-19. Moreover, Dash, Monero, and Ripple act as hedges before the COVID-19 outbreak and as diversifiers during this pandemic. Our results reveal that gold acts as a hedge and diversifier before the pandemic, but it's neither hedge nor a haven during the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, the results indicated that the expected volatility of the US stock market has an impact on the Tunisian stock market. Finally, our results indicate that the growth rate of the COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths harms Tunisia's stock market.

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