The Blockchain Revolution and the Volatility of Stock market in Iran During the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract Determining the factors affecting the volatilityand risk of the stock market by expanding the pricing models of capital assets has been the focus of researchers. One of the variables that have a close relationship with financial markets is blockchain technology. Blockchain is a new technology in the field of secure computing. This technology can revolutionize the digital world and by using the features of distributed ledger for every online transaction, it can execute transactions in such a way that the assets can be identified in the future without endangering the privacy, and security of the assets and the involved parties in the transaction. Therefore, the present study investigated the effect of blockchain technology on total and systematic risk volatility in 84 selected companies in the stock market of Iran from April 2011 to August 2021 using the System Generalized Method of Moments (System GMM). The results of the study show that market share, blockchain technology, research and development, and COVID-19 have a negative effect on systematic risk, manufacturing companies have a positive effect on systematic risk, also market share, research and development, and COVID-19 have a negative effect on total risk, and blockchain technology and manufacturing companies have a positive effect on the total market risk.