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Crypto Markets Don't Care About Coronavirus: Vitalik Buterin

source-logo  u.today 01 March 2020 04:00, UTC

While everyone is trying to figure out whether Bitcoin can serve as a flight-to-safety asset during the coronavirus epidemic, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that crypto is not affected by exogenous risk factors.

In his new tweet, the Russian-Canadian prodigy insists that cryptocurrencies do not care about the looming pandemic after slamming the media for pushing false narratives. 

I checked the crypto charts a few days ago and it felt like the rally was due for a continuation and if it didn't then prices would drop. That prediction seems to have proven correct. I don't think the crypto markets care about coronavirus.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 28, 2020

A black swan 

Bitcoin rallied together with traditional safe-haven assets such as gold and the Japanese yen during a military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. When President Donald Trump moved to de-escalate these tensions, the Bitcoin price immediately took a hit, even some skeptics admitted that this event was a game-changer for BTC as a macro asset. 

However, Bitcoin's failure to serve as a safe haven as the deadly coronavirus continues to march around the globe has cast a huge shadow of doubt on the 'digital gold' narrative. 

The first major test

Bitcoin is romanticized by its proponents as the answer to evil central banks and their egregious money-printing.

With the U.S. stock market witnessing its fastest correction in history and the European markets doing even worse, it seems very likely that another financial crisis is just around the corner. 

If the coronavirus does cause a new recession, this is going to be the first major test for Bitcoin in its 11-year history.    

u.today