There are plenty of opportunities for Cryptocurrencies during the existential crisis brought about by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, as people see ‘buying opportunity’ amidst the global uncertainty.

On Friday (March 27), UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is the first high-profile politician to be infected by the highly contagious COVID-19 disease. According to the latest statistic provided by John Hopkins University, more than half a million people have been diagnosed with the virus. A growing number of countries have executed lockdowns with the hope of curbing the rampant spread globally. Businesses and Individuals all over the world have been affected and an increasing number of professionals are told to work from home or to abide by a mandatory 14-day home quarantine. These actions have brought a growth of Internet usage around the world. Cloudflare, a renowned web performance and security company, has reported an increase of 10-30% internet traffic across the board.

Meanwhile, government bodies from around the world are implementing financial measures to affected businesses and individuals, such as the recent $2 Trillion dollar stimulus package by the Trump administration in the US to curb failing economies due to the global pandemic. As individuals, we may soon be benefiting from the various ‘care packages’ introduced by the government. It is also crucial of us to ensure our own health and safety during this testing period for mankind. Staying home during the pandemic reduces the risk of getting infected with the deadly coronavirus.

Markets have been shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the global crisis may open the door for digital assets such as cryptocurrencies. More people are getting involved in crypto either for investing or the cryptocurrency ecosystem. For the retail investors’ perspectives, the current situation gives them a buying opportunity. During a Bloomberg interview with Catherine Coley, CEO of Binance on March 16, she revealed that the coronavirus quarantine in Asia drove a surge in trade volume. Similarly, Kris Marszalek, CEO and co-founder of Crypto.com told Coindesk that the interest in cryptocurrencies has reached an ‘all-time high’ amid the coronavirus outbreak. In fact, the transactions on crypto exchange have more than doubled between December and February and the app downloads have also significantly increased.

Resurgence of Bitcoin

Retail investors’ favorite cryptocurrency – Bitcoin, is resilient to real-world supply-chain shocks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Accompanied by the growing reliance of people to perform their tasks digitally, more people involved in the space are using their quarantines to trade online, as cryptocurrency markets are underpinned by technology that is available 24/7, regardless of the current outlook of the world. Even though Bitcoin has yet to prove itself to be a ‘safe-haven’ asset, Coley argues that the cryptocurrency ecosystem has matured significantly over the last year, adding that current affordable prices may lure institutional investment. Bitcoin’s lack of dependence on the physical world will see it continue to trade with strength despite global quarantine efforts and economic challenges faced amid the coronavirus threat.

4 Things to do with Crypto

It appears that the global population has been told to stay inside their homes as the coronavirus pandemic has limited public movement and shut down businesses, it is worth exploring opportunities to work from home, including the more decentralized cryptocurrency sector. Our editors, have compiled a list of four activities involving crypto that could spark some ideas and options to people working from home or under quarantine.

Remote Crypto Jobs

As a countermeasure to the growing concern of a global recession and shocking unemployment rates this year, government bodies are unveiling various packages and funds to shield the economy from the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the ‘rescue’ packages, quarantined individuals who are recently unemployed or are just looking to fully utilise their extra times for some side gigs, there are actually a number of remote job posting sites available during this period. Some remote jobs can even extend beyond the pandemics and be converted into a full-time, work-from-home commitment. For starters, Indeed.com, a global leader among employment-related search engines with over 250 million monthly visitors, has a constant stream of  remote blockchain and cryptocurrency job listings on a daily basis. Many blockchain and crypto companies do provide remote options for various positions, thus a number of specialized job platforms for the blockchain and crypto space are emerging. Sites such as Cryptocurrencyjobs, Cryptojobslist, Blockew and Remoteok are some of the active platforms that include well-known companies in the industry such as Binance and Ripple Labs. While the remote job competition is only going to get tougher with an increased number of individuals interested in remote jobs, it is definitely worth the shot in earning an additional source of income during the trying period.

Daily Purchases with Crypto

There is a growing number of purchases online that could be purchased with crypto. In 2018, the world’s leading adult site – Pornhub introduced cryptocurrencies as a form of payment for their subscriptions. Other legitimate online businesses such as travel booking, food delivery and even gaming platforms are including crypto as an alternative mode of payment. The past 2 years have also seen crypto payment platforms emerging and offering ‘crypto debit cards’, where holders of cryptocurrencies could perform immediate online purchases using the visa-backed prepaid debit card that is linked to the crypto wallet account. 2020 is likely the year where digitalisation of transactions will see crypto payments gaining a foothold in the market, solidifying crypto as the new form of digital currency for the masses.

Learn Blockchain & Crypto online

One of the main perks of working from home is the freedom and the time flexibility one could enjoy. Shaving off the times required to commute daily, individuals could now perform more tasks than before. For interested parties looking to seriously learn about blockchain technology and the accompanying digital assets, free or heavily discounted online teaching platforms are available during this period. Acknowledging the growth of blockchain adoption globally, Coursera is offering one of the best blockchain-certification courses which is designed to educate learners about blockchain business and other relevant insights. Similarly, Udacity and Udemy are both offering blockchain-related courses online at a discounted price. Learners could choose from a myriad of focuses, from blockchain business, cryptocurrency trading to developers’ courses on private blockchain creation. Even renowned businesses like Linux Foundation and Hyperledger are offering courses that introduce blockchain and crypto to interested learners. Therefore, it is safe to say that there is no lack of selections when it comes to picking up a new skill in the middle of a quarantine.

Crypto Trading

Bitcoin and its “anti-fiat” cryptocurrency alternatives were spawned as a protest to the bailouts and money printing of the last financial crisis. With the existential crisis through COVID-19 pandemic, there is a renewed purpose of Bitcoin, in addition to its upcoming halving event in May. The event will be a major positive for the currency as it will reduce the supply to the market by 50%. Once the world moves on from the pandemic, central banks (starting with People’s Republic of China) will resume the announcement of blockchain-backed digital currencies, which they are developing at the moment. These CBDCs (central bank backed digital currencies) will, by necessity, rely on trading pairs with Bitcoin to facilitate trading compatibility on day one of their launches, taking advantage of the 180+ bitcoin-fiat currency pairs that are already existing worldwide. Currently, there are two camps of people that are viewing the development of the industry. One group is supportive of regulations and central banks based national cryptocurrencies, while another group is concerned about civil liberties and anonymity issues. Fortunately, there is a way for people trading cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin. During a home quarantine, there is effectively more time available to try out new things online. In this case, one can learn how to use bitcoin mixers such as Anonymix for full anonymity and effectively utilize mixers to ensure that trading transactions are untraceable, which could be a huge relief since more people are valuing their privacy over corporation or government control over the people’s data, movement and activities.

Beyond the Virus

As economies around the world continue to reel in the face of coronavirus uncertainty, quarantine orders and loss of productivity, migration into cryptocurrencies will be an indicator to watch. Throughout human history, we have survived numerous catastrophes and uncertainties, which eventually creates new opportunities and better technologies for tomorrow. It may be a period of self-reflection and rejuvenation for everyone, especially during the quarantine period where we are given a chance to learn and embrace disruptively new concepts such as cryptocurrencies and how we can introduce the new asset class into our everyday lives and aside from that, a moment in history in which we could alter our financial privacy through the decentralized technology or techniques like bitcoin mixing. The time may have arrived for both cryptocurrency and its underlying blockchain to prove to the market that they are worthy of attention in these uncertain times.

Related articles:

• How to store Bitcoin safely?
• Why are Stablecoins a Hot Favorite amongst Traders?