How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the crypto space? 

It all started in China. On November 17, 2019, the first patient presented symptoms of a new coronavirus disease. 

In January 2020, the Chinese city of Wuhan experienced the massive expansion of the COVID-19 epidemic. Forty-one hospitalized patients with laboratory confirmed cases were identified. Just two months later, in March, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. All the governments worldwide closed their national borders, suspended public events, and banned gatherings of people. 

It is challenging to imagine which spheres of our lives have not been affected by these dramatic and shocking events. The number of confirmed global cases exceeded 55 million.

Despite everything, the coronavirus crisis has impacted the world positively. European conservatism has long depended on the traditional financial system. The Covid-19 forced Europeans to switch to cashless payments and cryptocurrencies. 

Bitcoin as the next hedge against inflation

Specifically, the COVID-19 outbreak has fueled the Bitcoin safe-haven narrative as central banks print $15 trillion in stimulus in an attempt to ease the effects of the pandemic on global economies. While inflation rates are rising, people are turning to Bitcoin as the next hedge against inflation.

At the same time, in the name of public health, governments are initiating COVID-19 monitoring programs, raising serious concerns about privacy violations and the squeeze of centralization in the process. Governments have also taken another step in the erosion of civil autonomy by developing central bank digital currencies. These initiatives have been boosted globally due to the COVID-19 crisis. While experts see the solution to safeguarding privacy in decentralized technologies, the question of over-promised decentralization remains open.

Despite all the challenges we have faced from an economic, political and social point of view since the beginning of the year, there is no doubt that the pandemic is driving digital innovation and accelerating humanity 20 years in technological development.