Crypto Assets / NFTs / Web3

Applied Bitcoin Investments

The thesis should analyze the impact of different Bicoin investment strategies. One popular one is mixing a (low) share of Bitcoin exposure with a risk-free investment. Other may involve gold or volatility indices. Please contact Andre Guettler if you are interested.

 

Impact of Halving Events on Bitcoin Price

The thesis should analyze the impact of halving events in the Bitcoin price. The upcoming halving is one of the most broadly discussed issues in the crypto community. Most people expect a price stimulus because of the reduced supply of new Bitcoin. However, efficient market hypothesis would suggest an anticipation of the actual effect beforehand. Please contact Andre Guettler if you are interested. ­

 

How can tokenization help to improve voluntary carbon offset trading and sales

The thesis should analyze how tokenization can help to improve carbon offset markets. At the moment, there are only few companies active in this emerging market (see more information here, here, and here). Hence, you need to apply a very explorative (case study) approach. Thesis should be written in English. Please contact Andre Guettler if you are interested. 

 

Crypto betas

The thesis should calculate betas for liquid crypto assets (excluding stable coins). For that purpose, a database with daily crypto assets price data should be obtained. In the next step, a crypto index should be calculated (e.g., based on the top 100 non-stable coins). Finally, the betas are calculated and analysed. Further factors such as size, age, and category should be analyzed. Thesis can be written in English or German. Please contact Andre Guettler if you are interested. 

 

Price and Volatility Pattern of Crypto Assetss

The thesis should replicate and update publications by Caporale and Plastun (2019) and Baur et al. (2019). An reasonable extension would be to use (non-stable) Altcoins in addition to Bitcoin. Please contact Andre Guettler if you are interested. Thesis can be written in English or German.

 

Stock-to-Flow Valuation: The case of Bitcoin and Ethereum

The thesis should analyze whether the Stock-to-Flow approach is suitable in predicting Bitcoin and Ethereum. Read these sources (1 and 2) to start with. Students should also propose suitable demand factors to enhance the prediction models. Please contact Andre Guettler  if you are interested. Thesis can be written in English or German.

 

Overview of the DeFi lending / borrowing market

The thesis should provide an overview of the Defi lending / borrowing market. Please see first information here and general statistics here. Please contact Andre Guettler  if you are interested. Thesis can be written in English or German.

 

Overview of Decentralized Exchanges (DEX)

The thesis should provide an overview of decentralized exchanges (DEX) such as Uniswap or Curve Finance. Please see first information here and general statistics here. Please contact Andre Guettler if you are interested. Thesis can be written in English or German.

 

Central bank digital currency (CBDC)
Central banks already issue digital money, but only to a select group of financial institutions. Central bank digital currency would extend this to households and firms. This thesis should examines the proposal for such currency and assesses the opportunities and risks. Related literature can be found here. Please contact Andre Guettler if you are interested. 

 

Comparative Analysis of Bitcoin and Gold as Store of Value

This thesis should examine the similarities and differences between Bitcoin and gold, focusing on their effectiveness, investor perceptions, and roles as historical stores of value in the context of modern financial systems. Please contact  Alexander Wiedenmann if you are interested.

 

A case study of MicroStrategy

The company is know to hold more than 200k Bitcoin (largest corporate owner). It even borrows (heavily) to finance further aquisitions. While the thesis has a crypto component, it's mainly a valuation exercise. Please contact Andre Guettler if you are interested.  

 

Asset management and asset pricing:

Dividend-based investment strategies

The thesis should backtest an applied dividend-based investment strategy (find first information here) using European stock market data. Please contact Andre Guettler  if you are interested. Thesis can be written in English or German.

 

Credit Risk:

Does DBRS provide soft ratings?

The thesis should discuss whether the fourth largest rating agency in Europe, DBRS, provides ratings that appear relatively soft compared to the top-3 rating agencies. Data needs to be compiled using Bloomberg. Please contact Andre Guettler  if you are interested. Thesis can be written in English or German.

German SME credit ratings

The thesis should investigate the collapse of the German SME credit ratings. Smaller credit rating agencies such as Creditreform and Euler Hermes were assigning low investment grade ratings to German SMEs. Ex post, default rates were very high compared to firms that were initially rated similarly by the top-3 rating agencies. Please contact Andre Guettler  if you are interested. Thesis can be written in English or German.

 

Banking:

Case study Commerzbank

Thesis should wrap up the case of Commerzbank, which was rescued by the German government and is still partially controlled by it. There are currently (as of September 2024) shares being by the government. Please contact Andre Guettler  if you are interested. Thesis can be written in English or German.