Cryptocurrency valuation and ethics: a text analytic approach.

A recent and potentially profound innovation is the creation of cryptocurrencies and the underlying technology that is essential for their use in various financial transactions. Given the anonymity of a user of a cryptocurrency, such digital currencies may be used for many different types of both lawful and illicit activities. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which ethical considerations associated with the use of cryptocurrencies affect the valuations attached to such currencies. The examination is based on a text analytic approach that involves measuring the extent to which ethical and unethical words are used in a discussion related to Bitcoin on Twitter to determine if there is a connection between ethics and cryptocurrency valuations. We find the frequency of an unethical discussion about Bitcoin is negatively associated with its price. In contrast, the frequency of an ethical discussion is positively associated with its price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]