Store of value or speculative investment? Market reaction to corporate announcements of cryptocurrency acquisition

Abstract

In this study, we analyze the stock market reaction to 35 events associated with 32 publicly traded companies from six countries that have announced cryptocurrency acquisitions, selling, or acceptance as a means of payment. Our analysis focuses on traditional firms whose core business is unrelated to blockchain or cryptocurrency. We find that the aggregate market reaction around these events is slightly positive but statistically insignificant for most event windows. However, when we perform heterogeneity analyses, we observe significant differences in market reaction between events with high (larger CARs) and low cryptocurrency exposure (lower CARs). Multivariate regressions show that the level of exposure to cryptocurrency ("skin in the game") is a critical factor underlying abnormal returns around the event. Further analyses reveal that economically meaningful acquisitions of BTC or ETH (relative to firm's total assets) drive the observed effect. Our findings have important implications for managers, investors, and analysts as they shed light on the relationship between cryptocurrency adoption and firm value.