Do online message boards convey cryptocurrency-specific information?

Abstract

We investigate whether internet message boards convey cryptocurrency-specific information. Using an event study approach and choosing idiosyncratic volatility and price synchronicity as the proxies for cryptocurrency-specific return variation, we find that: idiosyncratic volatility (price synchronicity) significantly decreases (increases) after the message board opening events. In addition, the reverse changing trends of idiosyncratic volatility and price synchronicity confirm a cryptocurrency-specific information diffusion effect, in which increases of information channels lead to more information being conveyed, hence improving the information efficiency of the cryptocurrency market. Findings are robust to alternative model specifications, alternative online message boards, placebo testing, and a staggered difference-in-differences approach. These findings should be of great interest to practitioner in quantitative trading as well as to scholars interested in asset pricing.