Static and Dynamic Connectedness Between NFTs, Defi and Other Assets: Portfolio Implication

The paper examines the return and volatility transmission between NFTs, Defi assets, and other assets (oil, gold, Bitcoin, and S&P 500) using the generalized vector autoregressive framework. The results report weak static return and volatility spillovers between NFTs and Defi assets and selected markets, showing that these new digital assets are still relatively decoupled from traditional asset classes and Bitcoin. Most of the NFTs and Defi assets and Bitcoin are net transmitters of return and volatility spillovers, whereas gold and oil markets are net recipients of spillovers. Our findings show that the dynamic return and volatility connectedness become higher during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cryptocurrency bubble of 2021. We also compute the static and dynamic optimal weights, hedge ratios, and hedging effectiveness for the portfolios of NFTs/other asset and Defi asset/other asset and show that investors and portfolio managers should consider adding NFTs and Defi assets in their portfolios of gold, oil, and stock markets to achieve diversification benefits.