Kang, Woo-Young ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6615-721X, Lawrence, Edward and Wick, Benedikt (2026) Consumer complaints, Bitcoin pricing, and coinbase returns. In: 2026 Financial Management Association (FMA) Annual Meeting, 14th - 17th October, 2026, Tampa, FL.

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Abstract

We show that frictions at cryptocurrency exchanges, captured through consumer complaints, are reflected in the relative pricing of Bitcoin across U.S. trading venues. Using daily Bitcoin prices and CFPB complaint data, we find that average cross-exchange price deviations relative to Coinbase are significantly higher on days with at least one exchange-targeted Bitcoin complaint, indicating that Bitcoin on Coinbase trades at a larger relative discount on those days. The effect strengthens with complaint intensity. The results survive placebo tests using non-exchange complaints and diagnostics for omitted-variable bias. Complaints targeting Coinbase are associated with cumulative abnormal returns for Coinbase stock that are about 3.17 percentage points lower around complaint days. Overall, our evidence indicates that consumer complaints are associated with both cross-exchange Bitcoin price deviations and the equity valuation of the affected exchange.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Bitcoin, crypto pricing, consumer complaints, market efficiency
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HF Commerce H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5601 Accounting
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Greenwich Business School Greenwich Business School > School of Accounting, Finance and Economics
Last Modified:	16 Jul 2026 14:39
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/53960

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