Controlling for the polarity and subjectivity of social media data based on the development
of the COVID-19 outbreak, we analyse the relationships between the largest cryptocurrencies and
such time-varying realisation as to the scale of the economic shock centralised within the rapidly escalating pandemic. We find evidence of significant growth in both returns and volumes traded,
indicating that large cryptocurrencies acted as a store of value during this period of exceptional
financial market stress. Further, cryptocurrency returns are found to be significantly influenced
by negative sentiment relating to COVID-19. While not only providing diversification benefits for
investors, results suggest that these digital assets acted as a safe-haven similar to that of precious
metals during historic crises.