A Clean, Green Haven?- Examining the Relationship between Clean Energy, Clean and Dirty Cryptocurrencies

Is clean energy a safe haven for cryptocurrencies, or vice versa? In this paper, we investigate the hedge and safe haven property of a wide range of clean energy indices against two distinct types of cryptocurrencies based on their energy consumption levels, termed black or ’dirty’ and green or 'clean'. Statistical evidence shows that clean energy is not a direct hedge for either type of cryptocurrency. However, it serves as at least a weak safe haven for both in extreme bearish markets. Moreover, clean energy is more likely to be a safe haven for ’dirty’ cryptocurrencies than ’clean’ cryptocurrencies during increased uncertainty. We further study the spillover patterns among clean energy, cryptocurrency, stock, and gold markets. Weak connectedness is found between clean energy and cryptocurrencies which implies the potential use of clean energy as a hedge and diversification tool for cryptocurrencies in the future