COVID-19 Cryptocurrency Investment: Wealth Disparities and Portfolio Diversification

The introduction of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has provided many investors the option to engage in the market, diversify their portfolios, and accumulate wealth. The high return on cryptocurrency during the pandemic has served as an incentive for all ethnic groups to participate in the market. Cryptocurrency is perceived as a hedging instrument for wealth prospects across races during COVID-19. Considering the return on investment, to what extent is blockchain a good hedging instrument for minority investors? Using weekly trade price data from Yahoo Finance, market valuations from coinranking.com, and asset/equity variables from the Federal Reserve Bank, this paper examines investment strategies of different racial/ethnic groups in cryptocurrency during the pandemic in a panel data model from 2019 to 2021. Should investors use public coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as part of their investment portfolio mix during the pandemic? We find that an increase in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies during the pandemic may repress the investment strategy for marginalized groups.