A bibliometric review of cryptocurrencies as a financial asset

ABSTRACT

Within a decade, cryptocurrencies have captured significant attention. After Bitcoin's emergence in 2008, new cryptocurrencies started to enter the financial market. We use bibliometric analysis to explore the cryptocurrency literature in the areas of business and management. We review and analyze 464 research articles through bibliometric measurements and social network analysis using Biblioshiny in R. Our study highlights the most influential authors, institutions, countries, and studies. Using the results of the social network analysis of the authors and countries, we illustrate the co-authorship and collaboration among authors from various countries at the institutional level and demonstrate how they have expanded the knowledge in this area. We identify four streams in the current cryptocurrency literature: (i) the determinants of cryptocurrency returns, (ii) the efficiency of cryptocurrencies, (iii) tests of portfolio diversification and sheep flock behaviour and (iv) the regulation, governance, and socio-economic impact of cryptocurrencies. Finally, we present an agenda for future research in the field.

KEYWORDS:

• Bibliometric review
• literature review
• Bitcoin
• cryptocurrencies
• asset class

JEL:

• CODE: G11
• G19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Raja Nabeel-Ud-Din Jalal

Raja Nabeel-Ud-Din Jalal is a PhD Researcher in Accounting, Management and Business Economics at Dipartimento Di Economia Aziendale, Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara (Italy). He was Visiting Scholar and Research Assistant at Trinity Business School, Trinity College of Dublin-University of Dublin, Ireland. Mr Jalal has attended credited doctoral seminar at Kristiansand University of Adger, Norway. His main research interest lies in the area of Innovation, blockchain & cryptocurrencies, and behavioural Finance. He has published and presented his work on cryptocurrencies, corporate governance and personality traits in reputable international journals and conferences. Mr. Jalal reviewed papers as referee for reputable journals, such as Finance Research Letters, Sage Open, International Journal of Manpower and others.

Ilan Alon

Ilan Alon (PhD, Kent State University) is Professor of Strategy and International Marketing at the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Emerging Markets and the European Journal of International Management. Alon is a researcher in the field of international business with a focus on internationalisation, modes of entry, political risk, cultural intelligence and emerging markets. His publications have appeared in journals, such as Harvard Business Review, Management International Review, International Business Review, Journal of International Marketing, and International Marketing Review. His books are published by Palgrave, Routledge, McGraw-Hill and others.

Andrea Paltrinieri

Andrea Paltrinieri is Associate Professor of Banking and Finance at the Department of Economics and Business Administration, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan. He is Associate Editor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management and at Editorial Review board of International Journal of Emerging Markets. His fields of research are in banking and finance area, with a focus on sovereign wealth funds, Islamic finance, emerging markets and commodities. He published in International Business Review, International Review of Financial Analysis, International Review of Economics and Finance, International Journal of Emerging Markets, Research in International Business and Finance, The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Business Ethics: a European Review, The Geneva Papers.