Does Mining Fuel Bubbles? An Experimental Study on Cryptocurrency Markets

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lambrecht, Marco; Sofianos, Andis; Xu, Yilong
• 署名单位: Hanken School of Economics; Durham University; Utrecht University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.01238
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Bitcoin; bubbles; Cryptocurrency; financial market experiment

摘要

We investigate how key features associated with the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism of Bitcoin (commonly referred to as mining) affect pricing. In a controlled laboratory experiment, we observe that price bubble formation can be attributed to mining. Moreover, overpricing is more pronounced if the mining capacity is centralized to a small group of individuals. The order book data reveal that miners seem to play a crucial role in bubble formation. Further probing the mechanism in a second study, we find that both mining costs and decisions jointly with the sluggish rate of supply of the asset contribute to the bubble formation. Our results demonstrate that erratic pricing is an inherent feature of cryptocurrencies based on a mining protocol, thus seriously limiting any prospects for such assets becoming a medium of exchange.