Social Chatter and Asset Bubbles: The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin

In this project we want to study how social media and social chatter have contributed to the rise and fall of bitcoin. Specifically, we will be analyzing hundreds of billions of tweets since 2010 to: 1) Understand how social chatter on bitcoin is related to changes in its value, 2) Identify the most influential bloggers in affecting the price of bitcoin, 3) Assess how the chatter about bitcoin (language used, arguments made, audience involved) changed over time as the value of bitcoin was rising, and how it may have changed after the price collapsed. 4) Check if the most influential bloggers are now promoting a different virtual asset and if so, whether our analysis can predictor the next bubble to be formed.

UREP Cycle: 14

Faculty Mentor(s): Dr. Alexis Antoniades

Student(s): Touhami Abi, Mohammed Al-Hinai

Funding: $19,999

The Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP)