The underlying transparency of the Bitcoin blockchain allows transactions in the network to be tracked in near real-time. When someone transfers a large number of Bitcoins, the market receives this information and traders can adjust their expectations based on the new information. This paper investigates trading volume and its relation to asymmetric information around transfers on the Bitcoin blockchain. We collect data on 2132 large transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain between September 2018 and November 2019, where 500 or more Bitcoins were transferred. Using event study methodology, we identify significant positive abnormal trading volume for the 15-minute window before a large Bitcoin transaction as well as during and after the event. Using public information about Bitcoin addresses of cryptocurrency exchanges as proxies for information asymmetry, we find that transactions with high levels of information asymmetry negatively affect abnormal trading volume once the event becomes public knowledge, while some effects are even opposite for transactions with lower information asymmetry. The results show that blockchain transaction activity is a relevant aspect of Bitcoin‘s microstructure, as informed traders make use of the information in general and adjust their expectations based on the degree of information asymmetry.

中文翻译：

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比特币交易，信息不对称和交易量

比特币区块链的基本透明性允许近乎实时地跟踪网络中的交易。当有人转移大量比特币时，市场会收到此信息，交易者可以根据新信息调整其期望值。本文研究了交易量及其与围绕比特币区块链转移的不对称信息的关系。我们收集了2018年9月至2019年11月之间比特币区块链上2132笔大型交易的数据，其中转移了500或更多的比特币。使用事件研究方法，我们在大型比特币交易之前以及事件发生期间和之后的15分钟窗口内发现了明显的正异常交易量。使用有关加密货币交易所的比特币地址的公共信息作为信息不对称的代理，我们发现，一旦事件成为公众知识，具有高信息不对称性的交易会对异常交易量产生负面影响，而对于具有较低信息不对称性的交易甚至会有相反的影响。结果表明，区块链交易活动是比特币微观结构的一个相关方面，因为知情交易者通常会利用这些信息并根据信息不对称程度来调整其期望。