Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the impact of COVID-19 pandemic news in USA and in China on the dynamic conditional correlation between Bitcoin and Gold.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper offers a crucial viewpoint to the predictive capacity of COVID-19 surprises and production pronouncements for the dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) among Bitcoin and Gold returns and volatilities using generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity-DCC-(1,1) through the period of study since July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. To assess the unexpected impact of COVID-19, this study pursues the Kuttner's (2001) methodology.
Findings
The empirical findings indicate strong important correlation among Bitcoin and Gold if COVID-19 surprises are integrated in variance. This study validates the financialization hypothesis of Bitcoin and Gold. The correlation between Bitcoin and Gold begin to react significantly further in the case of COVID-19 surprises in USA than those in China.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature on assessing the impact of COVID-19 confirmed cases surprises on the correlation between Bitcoin and Gold. This paper gives for the first time an approach to capture the COVID-19 surprise component. Also, this study helps to improve financial backers and policymakers' comprehension of the digital currencies' market elements, particularly in the hours of amazingly unpleasant and inconspicuous occasions.