Analysis on the relationship between selected macroeconomic indicators and crypto currencies

Cryptocurrencies, which have become increasingly important in the world economy, seen as both an investment and a payment tool, and emerged with Bitcoin in 2008, have been the most important of the innovations brought by technological change and transformation. Since transactions made with cryptocurrencies are carried out electronically, in an encrypted manner, without intermediary institutions and there is no central authority controlling these currencies, it is also an advantage for investors and manages to attract the attention of investors and researchers day by day. In this study, it is aimed to examine the relationship between the most popular crypto currency Bitcoin and Ethereum and various macroeconomic indicators in terms of long and short term, based on the pre-Covid-19 pandemic period and the Covid-19 pandemic period. In the study, the Fourier cointegration test was used to determine the long-term relationship between the variables, and the Hatemi-J asymmetric causality test, in which positive and negative shocks were taken into account in the winning and losing periods, was used to determine the short-term relationship. According to the Fourier cointegration test findings, it has been determined that there is a long-term cointegration relationship between cryptocurrencies and selected macroeconomic indicators both in the pre-Covid-19 pandemic period and during the Covid-19 pandemic period. According to the Hatemi-J asymmetric causality test findings, it was concluded that there is both a unidirectional and bidirectional causality relationship between the positive and negative shocks of cryptocurrencies and the positive and negative shocks of other macroeconomic variables. Keywords: Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Fourier Cointegration, Hatemi-J Causality Test