MONETARY POLICY SHOCKS AND CRYPTOCURRENCY RETURNS: EVIDENCE FROM A STRUCTURAL VAR-X ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study examines the short-run effects of U.S. monetary policy shocks on cryptocurrency returns and asks whether digital assets respond to conventional macroeconomic transmission mechanisms. Focusing on the post-2020 period, it evaluates the magnitude, direction, and persistence of Federal Reserve rate shocks across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Ripple, and TRON. The analysis applies an SVAR-X framework to daily data for January 2020-December 2025. Cryptocurrency log returns are treated as endogenous variables, while the U.S. Dollar Index and VIX are included as exogenous controls; federal funds rate changes are modelled as strictly exogenous policy shocks. Impulse-response results show positive and significant contemporaneous responses for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and TRON, but no significant reaction for XRP. These effects dissipate within days, indicating modest, short-lived, and heterogeneous monetary-policy transmission rather than persistent effects on cryptocurrency return dynamics over time.