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!”
Never Too Careful pic.twitter.com/gUAsEsgSUt
— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) March 11, 2020
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.
South Korea quarantines banknotes to stem spread of coronavirus
South Korea’s central bank is disinfecting banknotes and temporarily removing them from circulation in an effort to control the spread of the coronavirus through the financial system. The Bank of Korea said it is putting currency notes through a high-heat process and then keeping them in a safe for 14 days, before releasing them back into circulation, according to a report in Reuters. That should be enough time to remove any trace of the virus, the bank said. Routine procedures for disinfecting...
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 cryptocurrencycryptocurrency as an alternative to avoid potentially infected banknotes, cryptocrypto could provide just that—if it were more widely used (and not currently plummeting in value).
So does OJ own any BitcoinBitcoin? The convicted felon did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment. But we’ll update you if he does.
