Coronavirus and crypto

Dec 3

Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two largest cryptocurrencies. Image: Shutterstock

Bitcoin Bombs, Ethereum Implodes as Crypto Market Drops 7%

Black Friday was supposed to be last week. While crypto was on sale the day after Thanksgiving, today is looking even darker for crypto investors. Bitcoin dropped more than 7% in 24 hours, Ethereum deflated by over 8%, and Solana shed 11% of its surging price tag today. In all, the global cryptocurrency market cap fell by nearly 7%. Only two coins in the top 20 managed to stay in the green—Terra, up 4% in 24 hours, and Polygon, which boosted its price by 2%. It's not just crypto. After a solid s...

Jan 27

Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve. Image: Federal Reserve.

Fed Continues Monetary Policy That Aided Bitcoin Price Rise

The Federal Reserve, the United States’ central bank, said today at the conclusion of its regular Federal Open Market Committee meeting that it would keep its key overnight interest rate near zero and make no change to its monthly bond purchases of at least $120 billion. In an expected move from the US central bank, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced that it would keep its strategy in place at least until there is a bounce back from the COVID-induced recession—but added there was “great uncert...

Nov 16

Bitcoin Price Nears $17K as Stocks Jump on New COVID-19 Vaccine

It’s the start of a new week, and there’s plenty of good news to go around for investors, traders… and, well, just about everyone: another COVID-19 vaccine is showing signs of being ready for the masses, and the markets are feeling good. Bitcoin is trading for nearly $17,000 per coin, marking another 2020 high, while traditional stock and equities markets are booming. A few hours ago, Moderna Labs announced positive results for a potential coronavirus vaccine, which the company tested on a group...

Nov 10

Crypto startups are raising big money again. Image: Shutterstock

Crypto Startups Raised $759M in Q3, 3X More Than in Q2 2020

A crypto venture capital fund has crunched the numbers: crypto projects raised $759 million in the third quarter of this year, almost quadruple that raised in Q2 when the tumult around the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing. Outlier Ventures reported that crypto projects raised $227 million in September through 97 deals, $278 million in August in 24 deals, and $254 million in July with 29 deals. By comparison, in the entire second quarter of this year, Outlier found that crypto firms had ra...

Nov 9

Bitcoin price is up. Image: Shutterstock

Bitcoin Price Rebounds Following 10% Drop on COVID-19 Vaccine News

Is Bitcoin a store of value correlated to gold or a speculative investment correlated to the stock market? Traders and investors can’t seem to make up their minds, and today is a perfect example. Earlier today, news of successful testing of a COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer Labs set the markets moving: stocks soared, gold sank, and Bitcoin dropped by more than $1,000 (10%) within hours. But within the last hour, Bitcoin has regained most of those losses and is currently trading for right around $15,4...

Oct 29

Big firms are now buying into Bitcoin as an investment. Image: Shutterstock

Bitcoin, Stocks Recover Despite Renewed COVID Concerns

While the markets started the week off in a panic, cooler heads appear to have prevailed—at least for now. The S&P 500 jumped 56 points today, an increase of 1.71%, and the Dow Jones is likewise up 291 points so far (1.10%). Meanwhile, Bitcoin similarly bounced back: BTC is currently trading for a price of $13,600, up 3.03% on the day. And while it’s too early to say if this is the start of a new trend or simply an upward correction following an overreaction from traders and investors, global m...

Oct 27

The coronavirus pandemic has helped increase Bitcoin's appeal among investors. Image: Shutterstock

Coronavirus Has Been Good for Bitcoin: Grayscale Investor Study

Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto asset manager, today published a survey that shows America’s Bitcoin investors are more interested in Bitcoin than last year, in part spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. The survey, which summarizes the views of 1,000 American investors between the ages of 25 and 65, showed that the average Bitcoin investor is college-educated, male, and employed, and on the younger side. No surprises there (that said, the survey only counted those with household incomes a...

Sep 21

Bitcoin and crypto market is down today. Image: Shutterstock

Crypto Market Sheds $22 Billion as Bitcoin Slides to $10,400

The global cryptocurrency market shed a collective $22 billion in market capitalization today with over 90 of the top 100 crypto assets plunging in price. The price of Bitcoin fell to $10,409, representing a decline of approximately 4.5% within the last 24 hours. Crypto investors will be anxiously looking on with March 12 in the back of their minds. At that time, Bitcoin suffered a two-day price plunge that saw the crypto asset lose over half its value in two days. The Black Thursday market cras...

Aug 14

How will Bitcoin react to a second wave of the coronavirus? (Image: Shutterstock)

How a second wave of coronavirus lockdowns will impact Bitcoin

Several months into the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, its impact on the global economy has been monumental, pushing both the US and the UK into recession (the latter, for the first time in 11 years). New COVID-19 surges have sprung up in France and Spain, while even New Zealand, which had won plaudits for its handling of the virus, has been forced to put its biggest city, Auckland, back into lockdown after a new outbreak. Amidst the economic uncertainty, the price of Bitcoin has ebbed and flow...

Aug 10

Does COVID-19 tracing need blockchain? Image: Shutterstock

ACLU, EFF come out against blockchain for COVID-19 tracking

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have spoken out against a new law in California that wants to use blockchain for COVID-19 tracing. In an online post last week, the digital rights duo described the bill as a “huge privacy concern” and added that “no one should have to unlock their phone and expose their health information in order to gain entry to their office, school, or neighborhood market.” The bill, AB 2004, which was drafted by lawmakers i...

Jul 30

US economy has seen better days. Image: Shutterstock

US GDP takes historic hit in Q2 as Bitcoin, crypto markets rise

The gross domestic product of the United States just had its worst quarter-to-quarter drop in history. But the economic slump hasn’t had an adverse effect on Bitcoin and its related crypto market, which has grown considerably during the same time period. According to the US Department of Commerce’s Q2 report, US GDP fell 32.9% in Q2, the worst quarter-to-quarter change in the country’s history. The second worst plunge came in 1921, when GDP fell some 28%. For comparison, the most drastic hit to...

Jul 14

Department of Justice. Image: Shutterstock

DOJ charges Texan man with funneling COVID relief loans into crypto

The Department of Justice has charged a Texan with fraudulently taking out a $1.1 million coronavirus relief loan and funneling some of the money into cryptocurrencies. Joshua Argires, the 29-year-old man of Houston, Texas, allegedly took out more than $1.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans after fraudulently submitting two claims to federally insured banks. Argires allegedly submitted one of the loans for a company called Texas Barbecue; the other was for a company called Houston La...

Jul 10

Venture capital for blockchain and crypto firms has stagnated during the COVID-19 pandemic (Image: Shutterstock)

Crypto funding post-coronavirus: where are the VCs?

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world. From the way we work to the way we socialize, nothing will ever be quite the same again. For the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, the pandemic caused an even wilder ride than usual—and that’s in an industry famed for its volatility. The cryptocurrency market tumbled alongside global ones in the middle of March, but it made a stunning recovery by the time Bitcoin underwent its third “halving” in early May. But the question remains: what ha...

Jul 8

Microsoft takes legal action against Coronavirus scammers. Image: Shutterstock

Microsoft helps take down coronavirus scam websites

Tech giant Microsoft has taken legal action against scammers who are using the coronavirus to con its users out of sensitive information or money. Documents unsealed today by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia show that Microsoft has obtained a court order to shut down websites that host malware, said the company. Scammers have taken advantage of the coronavirus to con Microsoft users out of their money or sensitive information, said the company. Many, it said, involve...

Jun 24

Stock, crypto markets slide following surge in COVID-19 cases

It’s been a rough day for both crypto and stocks alike, as the US economy reels from a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases. Most coins today are in the red, as the combined market capitalization for cryptocurrencies today sank by around $11 billion. Bitcoin, for example, has fallen by nearly 4% in price, currently trading for around $9,200 per coin, erasing the gains from earlier in the week (even if the asset is still outperforming gold this year.) Ethereum, meanwhile, has likewise dropped by 4%, p...

Jun 19

North Korea to target stimulus checks in weekend cyberattack: report

The infamous North Korean Hacking syndicate Lazarus Group may be targeting Americans who are expecting stimulus payouts—among other beneficiaries of government stimulus from around the world. According to a report by internet security research firm Cyfirma, Lazarus Group has devised a phishing scheme with some 5 million individuals and businesses in mind, spanning across the US, UK, Singapore, Japan, India and South Korea. Cyfirma expects the attack to come this weekend over a two-day period an...

Jun 11

Congress mulls digital dollar, FedAccounts to speed up COVID stimulus

How can digital tools be used to improve the delivery of federal stimulus payments related to the COVID-19 pandemic? That was the subject of a US House Committee on Financial Services hearing today. But, as it turned out, the solutions may have less to do with newfangled blockchain technology and digital dollars and much more to do with the old-fashioned post office. The hearing focused in particular on payments to the unbanked, or those who don’t have a bank account or regular relationship with...

Stock market’s worst day since March crash is not good for Bitcoin

Following one of the strong market rallies in history, the global pandemic, mass domestic unemployment and widespread social unrest got the best of the US stock market today. The Dow Jones opened 5.7% lower while the S&P 500 opened 4.8% lower, and the stock market closed the day with the Dow plunging nearly 1,800 points in one of its worst performance in a single day since Black Thursday, when global markets tanked amid uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. All this could be disastrou...

Jun 8

Brazil has been accused of censoring coronavirus figures. Image: Shutterstock.

Brazil starts censoring coronavirus death numbers

Sources within Brazil’s health ministry allege that the country’s government is censoring data about the coronavirus, according to local reports. The government stopped releasing cumulative data about coronavirus cases and deaths on Friday. It has also removed such figures from its website. Now, it only reports daily numbers. Brazil has the second-highest number of coronavirus cares in the world. There have been 691,758 cases and 36,455 deaths in the country, according to Johns Hopkins Universit...

Jun 6

Coronavirus causes absurd ATM queues, as unemployed New Yorkers withdraw state benefits. Image: Shutterstock

COVID-19 causes hideous ATM line. Why not just use crypto?

The crippling effect the coronavirus is having on the US economy is evident from one thing: an absurdly long ATM line. According to a New York Times report yesterday, lines for one Manhattan ATM can take up to two-and-a-half hours. People are lining for the ATM because it provides cash through KeyBank—a bank unemployed people can get their state benefits from. And KeyBank only has one branch in the whole of New York City. Crypto developers have long offered up solutions to problems like this...

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