COVID-19 is doing immense damage all over the world, not only to people’s health and well-being but also to businesses and companies. There’s no way to predict what will be the effect of all of this—but there is a very strong likelihood that it will deeply affect crypto.
Not to speculate too heavily, and this article is speculation, please note that, but with the increase of individuals doing most transactions digitally due to self-isolation and the various machinations of governments to deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, it doesn’t seem irrational to expect a change in how the world sees money in general.
The physical dollar’s use has already been declining well before skin contact became discouraged. And it only makes sense to use secure means of money transfers. The blockchain is already being utilized by banks for this reason.
And then there’s the other side of it: faith in money. I won’t bring political value judgments to these actions, but things like bailouts and UBI (universal basic income) are being discussed. For good or for ill, these actions will influence how individuals and groups, and even children growing up during this, perceive the value of money.
And perception brings change. People who didn’t have time to understand crypto may now have immense time to do so, and the inclination as well. Any stay-at-home job, including investment or mining, is likely becoming more desirable by the day.
And, yes, from this some cryptos may rise high or die spectacularly in the coming months. But it’s the longer-term effects, the trends this may influence, that are truly interesting. And, for those paying attention, this is perhaps a chance to get something positive out of the objectively horrible COVID-19 pandemic.
