In brief

  • Banks throughout the world are disinfecting cash because it might transmit the coronavirus.
  • OJ Simpson is taking matters into his own hands—does he own any Bitcoin?

With the deadly coronavirus now spreading across the US, former football and TV murder trial star OJ Simpson is worried—so much so that he’s now disinfecting his cash.

“Well you know they’re cancelling all these crowds and games and they’re telling people not to shake hands, and to disinfect surfaces,“ the Juice said in a video posted to Twitter yesterday. “Well, this is what I won at the golf course today. How do I know how many hands have touched this money? I’m just saying—take care!”

OJ isn’t the only one concerned about infected cash.

Just last week, the World Health Organization warned that cash could carry the novel coronavirus. “Customers should wash their hands after touching banknotes because infectious Covid-19 may cling to the surface for several days,” the WHO said. The health organization recommended using contactless payment methods instead.

Likewise, to prevent the spread of the virus, the Bank of South Korea, the Bank of England, and the US Federal Reserve have all begun taking preventative measures to disinfect and withdraw cash from circulation.

While these institutions didn’t mention cryptocurrency as an alternative to avoid potentially infected banknotes, crypto could provide just that—if it were more widely used (and not currently plummeting in value).

So does OJ own any Bitcoin? The convicted felon did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment. But we’ll update you if he does.