After creating a new blockchain transaction, the next step usually is to make miners aware of it by having it propagated through the blockchain's peer-to-peer network. We study an unintended alternative to peer-to-peer propagation: Exclusive mining. Exclusive mining is a type of collusion...

This study explores the determinants of initial coin offering (ICO) success, where success is defined as the amount of capital a project could raise. ICOs are a tool for startups in the blockchain ecosystem to raise early capital with relative ease. The market for ICOs has grown at a rapid pace...

Cryptocurrency markets are often deemed inefficient. This paper explores how the market reacts to a specific form of public information: large Bitcoin transactions. The event study examines the price effects of 2,132 transactions involving at least 500 Bitcoins over the period September 2018 to...

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are a high-risk asset class where very high returns are offset by large losses. In a nationally representative online survey of 3,864 German citizens, 354 (9.2%) reported owning cryptocurrencies in March 2019. We analyze a subpopulation of 225 cryptocurrency...

Blockchain-based security token offerings (STOs) provide a new way of crowdfunding and corporate financing. Building on signalling theory, this paper examines 1) whether companies conducting an STO make use of cheap signals to influence investment behaviour and 2) if such use of cheap signals is...

Bitcoin runs on energy. The decentralized network’s amount of energy consumption has resulted in multifaceted discussions about its efficiency and environmental impact. To put Bitcoin’s energy consumption into perspective, we propose to relate (a) the energy consumption in TWh and (b)...