I love being home. I love to work from home.
But this is different. You can see the people
are trying to keep the distance, but there's
still quite a few people jogging, walking
dogs, playing in the parks.
Basically, whenever we go out, we have to
wear a mask and go out means we just step
outside, where there is the front door of
our home. Even in the elevator or
just to go down the street and buy some milk.
Also the kitchen is another
office. And it's not bad, after all, we can
have Italian coffee all the time.
You're not allowed to go out
dancing or in clubs or in whatever kind of
bar anymore. But I wasn't doing that anyway
because I am working my ass off for crypto
adoption. So there is no time to party for me.
And I think when we get past
this, we're all going to learn kind of a new
way of doing things.
A new world of for work as a
whole. COVID-19 is devastating economies around
the world. According to the United Nations,
the global economic impact of the Corona virus
could reach 2 trillion dollars. The Fed estimates
could cost the U.S. over 47 million jobs.
But how have crypto companies reacted to the
crisis? We spoke to industry leaders to find
out.
Working from home has allowed
me as the CEO to be, in my opinion, be more
efficient. I can avoid the chaos of the office
and I can structure my day very clearly.
We instituted really are our
process and our policies to really take our
e-mail service, all of our systems and processing
all of our development efforts, all of our
customer service to an entirely remote environment.
And so far, we really continued operations
without missing a beat.
We're one hundred and thirty
person company that operates in six countries.
So we need to be flexible in terms of our
ability to operate remotely anyhow. So we
have the right technology in place.
So using tools like Slack, hosting
daily stand up meetings so that we can maintain
prioritization and maintain dialogue. Those
are some of the important steps.
It's been easier for the cryptocurrency
industry to adjust because of the way we've
been operating originally. So the service
people are spread all over the world. We're
very much used to have for this way of operating.
Despite being highly digital,
the crypto industry still depends
on physical events to connect people and ideas.
Due to the pandemic, all crypto conferences
scheduled for the first half of 2020 were
canceled or postponed.
Right now there are no events,
which means there are no revenues, no profits.
Right. And people don't work and nowhere flagship
event in Singapore every November is also,
of course, influenced. We don't know if we
will still hold it.
Those events are very important
for my business, because that is the way
know people, I know companies, I can share
what I'm doing with my company.
The COVID-19 outbreak has severely
impacted the crypto markets. On March 12th,
now known as Black Thursday, Bitcoin crashed
by 40 percent. Other cryptocurrency suffered
similar losses. Even though prices have since
bounced back,
they have yet to fully recover.
When the price goes down, then we don't have
a lot of purchasing power left to do fancy
things or even pay for our employees.
People spend less when you have
those periods of uncertainty and those extreme
peak of fear.
Right now we are kind of in,
it's not survival mode already, but kind of.
Everyone needs to reevaluate their own risk
management system, reevaluate their own good
system, either on capacity level, either on
staff level.
So it's a lesson to the entire
crypto industry.
Not all crypto businesses were
harmed by the market crash. Since the pandemic
started, volatility has been surging and cryptocurrency
exchanges have registered record bitcoin inflows.
Volumes are through the roof,
the volatility is there. I think
we're going to have a record month this month.
We see that will be a lot more
retail participants to trade on the cryptocurrency
exchange, maybe because they stay home and
they spend more time watching the market,
so induce more trading volume. Of course,
the volatility, the recent volatility of crypto
to induce a lot of volumes on exchanges.
It is still unclear how long
it will take before COVID-19 is defeated.
Some signs of hope are coming from China,
where the infection rate is slowing down and
quarantine measures are being gradually lifted.
Since end of February,
things are getting much, much
better and most of our colleagues went back
to work in early March. In Shanghai, I saw
people sitting in the restaurants. I saw people
walking on streets, buying stuff. So I do
believe the economy will recover very soon
in China.
But outside of China, especially
in Europe, the number are soaring.
Meanwhile, the crypto community
joined the global fight against COVID-19.
Prominent crypto companies, such as Binance
and Ripple Labs have been launching fundraising
campaigns to buy medical supplies and contain
the spread of the virus. A charity poker tournament
featuring crypto industry leaders was organized
by fundraising platform The Giving Block.
Other companies are developing blockchain
applications to improve the efficiency and
transparency of the healthcare system.
I want to get a vaccination.
I need to know that I am me. I need to know
that when I get that vaccination, the vaccine
that I have actually is the active ingredient
that I want. I would want a testimony for
the person who is giving me that vaccination
to be that person.
I'm licensed in Tennessee, Illinois.
The immunization records actually go to both.
What if there's a patient who's actually in
both states, how to actually duplicate that
when ultimately that information gets to the
CDC? Perfect application for blockchain technologies
to actually facilitate a reporting mechanism
where you truly have tracking trace and all
provenance of actually like, you know, of
that chain of trust. As COVID-19 rages across
the world, the future of the crypto industry
looks uncertain. On one hand, the virus outbreak
and the following market crash exposed the
immaturity of digital currencies and cast
doubts on the narrative of Bitcoin being a
safe haven.
There are people that are losing
fate in their crypto currency area. It's still
at a very early stage and still very volatile.
There is no safe haven at the
moment. The only thing that's safe for people
right now is is cash because they need the
liquidity.
However, the real chance for
bitcoin to shine has still to come. Central
banks are trying to sustain their economies
by cutting interest rates and increasing liquidity.
There is an infinite amount of cash at the
Federal Reserve. We will do whatever we need
to do to make sure that there's enough cash
in the banking system. With the Fed ready
to print an infinite amount of cash to face
the crisis, the risk of hyperinflation is
now more real than ever. Will people move
to scarce digital assets to preserve their
money's value?
Being decentralized, being borderless
and having a max cap of coins can be of benefit,
especially when you take a look at what's
happening at the Fed at the moment.
I think the selling was a panic
selling. The fundamental things haven't changed
again. And I don't think the believe of people
in the cryptocurrency industry has lessen
a bit. I think over time
Bitcoin will emerge much differently
than other assets, including gold. One, because
of its scarcity. Two, because I think it's
still early in the year in the adoption curve
for cryptocurrency and bitcoin. The industry
being global, being very digital and providing
services 24/7, regardless of any market conditions,
any world situations would help us as an industry
to grow further and bring more people to the
industry as well.
What will the world look like
in the aftermath of the COVID- 19 pandemic?
And what place will Crypto have in it? The
industry has been showing its resilience in
this global crisis, leading the path to an
entirely digital, decentralized way of doing
business.
Now, with the global recession
ahead, the time has come for crypto to prove
the same endurance and do what it was created
for, provide a solution to the flaws of the
legacy economy. Will Bitcoin be up for the
challenge? Cointelegraph. Like, subscribe
and hodl.
