The coronavirus pandemic has claimed thousands of lives and is ravaging world economies, having forced many businesses to shut down. How has it affected Bitcoin and what role will it's effects play in the future of this cryptocurrency?
When Bitcoin’s hashrate hit an all time high in 2019 and prices climbed as high as $13,000, many crypto enthusiasts thought the world was finally noticing it and believed that the market was back on track from the slump of 2018. With the halvening shifting closer, many expected 2020 to be the year that Bitcoin would moon again.
Then the Coronavirus pandemic happened and disrupted modern society, affecting everybody’s lives. Its shocking effects travelled across borders to the four corners of the earth. Crowded squares are now empty, businesses are shutting down operations everywhere, and the stock markets have lost a ton of dollars.
Bitcoin itself shed +$2,000 in 24 hours during the second week of March. By the start of the third week, the weekly loss was as huge as 40%. Alerts from Blockfolio were frequent and heartbreaking.
Posts on Bitcoin forums and social media were filled with panic. The by-products of this pandemic are fear and uncertainty. And if you’re a crypto holder, add doubt to the mixture. These 3 emotions, rightly induced by the Coronavirus pandemic- everyone in their right senses is concerned about the virus, forced a heavy selling-off of Bitcoin.
So, prices fell quickly and hard. Big exchanges like Bitmex and Binance suffered downtimes, run aground by the huge number of sell orders. It was chaos.
Resurgence and stability?
After some days of doom and gloom though, Bitcoin found its feet and started some resemblance of a resurgence.
A sudden bitcoin price crash similar to the one seen a few weeks ago now looks unlikely, with exchange deposits having dropped by over 30 percent in the last 12 days.
Price fluctuations are still present but the overall curve seems to be going upward. The price has been hovering around $6,000 for the last 7 days, which is way more stable than it was since the beginning of March.
The thing is Bitcoin has gone through devaluations bigger than this and has always managed to scrape its way back to the path of development and growth.
So, if you panic-sold a few weeks ago, you should be kicking yourself in the foot right now- unless you actually needed the money for something important.
What does the future hold?
Contrary to current market sentiments and perceptions, the future of Bitcoin is bright.
To combat the pandemic, the United States, the United Kingdom and other governments are blatantly printing money out of thin air. It’s not an ideal solution but it’s what they best know how to do. Their aim is to mitigate the virus’s catatonic effects on the stock market. But this action has far-reaching consequences.
An influx of cash into any economy will definitely weaken its currency and cause inflation because more money is chasing after limited goods and services. Everything will be more expensive and your money in the bank will lose a fraction of its value.
Before the pandemic, the world’s economy was already fragile and you can guess that the current situation can plunge it into an ominous depression worse than that of 2008. It’s unsure if governments will be able to successfully deal with this resulting fallout. This pandemic could be the straw that will break the camel’s back.
In this time of financial crisis, Bitcoin will likely be a succor. Its value is determined by its users, has a deflationary nature, and it is not controlled by a single entity. It is also backed by mathematics and is unhackable.
With Bitcoin’s limited coin distribution and the halving drawing closer, there’s no doubt it will be more scarce as more people flock to it because fiat is worth less.
So, if you hodl some BTC now, cherish it. You don’t know how lucky you are.
News From
Emmanuel O.
