PBESProceedings of Business and Economic Studies2209-26412209-265XBio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.10.26689/pbes.v8i5.11691ArticleBitcoin’s Weekend Effect: Returns, Volatility, and Volume (2014–2024)https://artdesignp.com/journal/PBES/8/5/10.26689/pbes.v8i5.11691XuZhe2025852025-10-03Using daily BTC-USD data from September 19, 2014 to January 21, 2024, this paper re-examines whether weekends differ from weekdays for Bitcoin along three margins: average returns, close-to-close volatility, and trading activity. We implement Welch mean comparisons and HAC-robust OLS with month fixed effects (bandwidths 5, 7, and 14). In the full sample and across subsamples (2016–2019; 2020–2023; early 2024), we find no detectable weekend–weekday gap in average returns, while volatility and trading activity are lower on weekends. The patterns are robust to using squared returns as a volatility proxy. The joint evidence is consistent with liquidity and attention mechanisms—quieter weekends rather than compensating return premia. Replication files reproduce all tables and figures.

Aharon DY, Qadan M, 2019, Bitcoin and the Day-of-the-Week Effect. Finance Research Letters, 31: 415–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2018.12.004

Caporale GM, Plastun A, 2019, The Day of the Week Effect in the Cryptocurrency Market. Finance Research Letters, 31: 258–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2018.11.012

Baur DG, Cahill D, Godfrey K, et al., 2019, Bitcoin Time-of-Day, Day-of-Week and Month-of-Year Effects in Returns and Trading Volume. Finance Research Letters, 31: 78–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2019.04.023

Sahu S, Ramírez AF, Kim J‑M, 2024, Exploring Calendar Anomalies and Volatility Dynamics in Cryptocurrencies: Day‑of‑the‑Week Effects Before and During COVID‑19. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 17(8): 351. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm17080351

Jahanshahloo H, Corbet S, Oxley L, 2022, Seeking Sigma: Time‑of‑the‑Day Effects on the Bitcoin Network. Finance Research Letters, 49: 103101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103101

Kristoufek L, 2013, Bitcoin Meets Google Trends and Wikipedia: Quantifying the Relationship Between Phenomena of the Internet Era. Scientific Reports, 3: 3415. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03415