Decrypting New Age International Capital Flows

Clemens Graf von Luckner, Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff

No 29337, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper employs high frequency transactions data on the world’s oldest and most extensive centralized peer-to-peer Bitcoin market, which enables trade in the currencies of more than 135 countries. We develop an algorithm that allows, with high probability, the detection of “crypto vehicle transactions” in which crypto currency is used to move capital across borders or facilitate domestic transactions. In contrast to previous work which has used “on-chain” data, our approach enables one to investigate parts of the vastly larger pool of “off-chain” transactions. We find that, as a conservative lower bound, over 7 percent of the 45 million trades on the exchange we explore represent crypto vehicle transactions in which Bitcoin is used to make payment in fiat currency. Roughly 20 percent of these represent international capital flight/flows/remittances. Although our work cannot be used to put a price on cryptocurrencies, it provides the first systematic quantitative evidence that the transactional use of cryptocurrencies constitutes a fundamental component of their value, at least under the current regulatory regime.

JEL-codes: E42 E51 E58 F21 F24 F32 F38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int, nep-mac, nep-mon, nep-opm and nep-pay
Note: IFM ME
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published as Clemens Graf von Luckner & Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff, 2023. "Decrypting New Age International Capital Flows," Journal of Monetary Economics, .

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Journal Article: Decrypting new age international capital flows (2023)
Working Paper: Decrypting New Age International Capital Flows (2023)
Working Paper: Decrypting New Age International Capital Flows (2023)
Working Paper: Decrypting New Age International Capital Flows (2023)
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