Deciphering digital assets

Principal Investigator: Mohamed Al Guindy, Finance
Project Title: Deciphering Digital Assets
Funder: Carleton University, Multidisciplinary Research Catalyst Fund

The initial focus of this work is on monetary digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, by leveraging other implicit digital assets, such as social media. This is an exciting and emerging field with collaborators from the Sprott School of Business, Journalism & Communication, Economics, Computer Science and the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs. With the team’s diverse expertise in A.I., social network analysis, and media analysis, they will begin with understanding the role of media coverage on cryptocurrency prices. This exploration will cover both traditional media outlets such as journals and newspapers, as well as non-traditional, deep media sources such as social media, financial blogs, and Reddit. By collaborating with additional internal and external stakeholders, the research team will explore several thought-provoking research activities. Topics explored will include the price volatility and regulation of cryptocurrencies as well as the scope of illicit activities using cryptocurrencies. Specific societal and media implications will also be studied such as how much does Bitcoin mining affect the price of electricity, to what extent does the media cover cryptocurrencies, and what is the role of Reddit and financial blogs?