Assessing Bitcoin as an alternative investment asset in Egypt: opportunities and risks.
摘要
This study empirically assesses the viability of Bitcoin as an alternative investment asset within the Egyptian context from 2011 to 2023. We conduct a comparative analysis of Bitcoin’s risk-return characteristics against traditional Egyptian investment vehicles: the EGX30 stock index, physical Gold, and the USD/EGP exchange rate. Utilizing historical daily data sourced from Coinbase, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, and the Central Bank of Egypt, we employ standard financial metrics including annualized returns, volatility (standard deviation), and Sharpe ratios. Correlation analysis is performed to evaluate Bitcoin’s diversification potential. Furthermore, we examine asset performance during significant periods of socio-economic stress: the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2020), and the EGP devaluation period (2022-2023). Our findings reveal Bitcoin’s exceptionally high volatility (