WOLFRAM

Wolfram Summer School

Alumni

Daniel Wilson-Nunn

Summer School

Class of 2014

Bio

Daniel has just finished his second year studying for an undergraduate degree in mathematics and statistics at the University of Warwick, UK. He has developed an interest in the study of probability theory, stochastic processes, and mathematical finance. Outside of his studies, he has completed a number of internships at investment banks in both the UK and Malaysia. As part of these internships, he has studied how Mathematica can be implemented to produce models for pricing complex, equity-based derivatives. In addition, Daniel is interested in changing the way that high school students learn mathematics, and broadening the education of computer programming for youths.

In his spare time, Daniel enjoys Formula 1, rowing, traveling, computing, and foreign cuisine. So far during his time at Warwick, he has been the academic head of the society for students on degrees run by the Statistics Department, the treasurer of the Emerging Markets Forum, and for two years running, the secretary of the Student Staff Liaison committee for the Statistics Department.

Project

The Bitcoin is a so-called cryptocurrency and can be seen as a virtual currency that is traded in a way similar to that of foreign exchange. Since its release in 2009, subsequent rise to fame in 2011, and even greater fame in 2013, it has been subject to great discussion, speculation, and controversy regarding its legality, security, and stability.

Here is a plot of the price of the Bitcoin since mid 2013:

I aim to analyze the USD/BTC price to discover properties about the price of a Bitcoin. To do this, I will apply standard financial models to see how well they fit, as well as where and why they fail. I will also investigate whether there are any currencies—real or crypto—that show any correlation with the Bitcoin, and if they do, to what extent and why.

Finally, applying some more mathematical analysis tools to the price, I will investigate its randomness and whether it is truly random. To do this, I will apply tools such as entropy and fractal dimension.

References

Favorite Outer Totalistic r=1, k=2 2D Cellular Automaton

Rule 135708