Multifractal behavior of cryptocurrencies during periods of economic uncertainty

Background: In recent years, investors' interest in cryptocurrencies has increased due to their notable price volatility and rapid price increases. These investors view cryptocurrencies as suitable financial assets for portfolio rebalancing strategies. Purpose: The main objective of this study is to examine the multifractality of the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Lisk (LSK), Quantum (QUA), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Augur (REP), Darkcoin (DASH), EOS, IOTA (MIOTA). Methods: The Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) econophysics model supports the methodology. Results: The results suggest that during the 2020 pandemic period, the digital currencies LSK, QUA, MIOTA, XRP, REP, BTC, ETH, LTC and DASH showed very significant persistence, indicating that price formation is not random. However, validating that cryptocurrency prices are predictable based on historical time series was impossible. On the other hand, the digital currency EOS proved to be in equilibrium; in other words, price formation follows the random walk pattern, suggesting that prices are not autocorrelated over time. During the 2022 geopolitical conflict, long-term memory patterns shifted significantly towards short-term memories, i.e. anti-persistence. The digital currencies ETH, MIOTA, EOS, LTC, REP, LSK and DASH showed anti-persistence slopes, indicating that prices were less influenced by past events and more by recent events. On the other hand, the cryptocurrencies BTC (0.50), QUA (0.50), and XRP (0.50) demonstrate that prices contain a significant random component and that the residuals are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.), supporting the idea that white noise might be present. Conclusion: From a risk management perspective, these findings are highly relevant to investors, traders and market participants.