Crypto-driven growth: a comparative study of Bitcoin and Ethereum on economic growth for multi-country analysis

Abstract

Despite the growing emphasis on the nexus between growth and macroeconomic indicators­, research on the influence of cryptocurrencies on economic performance remains limited. This study compares the impact of two leading cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, on economic growth, alongside inflation, market uncertainty, and oil and gold prices, using panel data from 14 countries between Q3 2015 and Q3 2023. The results demonstrate robust cross-sectional dependence, indicating that economic shocks in one country affect the entire group. Therefore, second-generation tests are employed to confirm the presence of stationarity in the variables. Except for Bitcoin’s trading volume, panel fully modified ordinary least squares estimations reveal a significantly positive impact of cryptocurrencies on growth. Cointegration is present in the long run, while in the short run, strong bi- and unidirectional causality is found for all cryptocurrency proxies. The study provides insights that can help policymakers develop strategies to align economic growth with the crypto market, benefiting the broader economy.