For well over a month now, a great number of countries have been living under lockdowns and stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, central banks like the Fed, Bank of England (BoE), and European Central Bank (ECB) have funneled trillions into the hands of private financial incumbents. Despite the market carnage on March 12, cryptocurrency markets have gone against the trend and remain resilient. Bitcoin and digital currency trade volumes in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 have outshined Q1 2019’s volumes by 61%.
Also read: The Bitcoin Cash Network’s Block Reward Officially Halved – Block 630,000 Mined
Lockdowns and Stimulus Fuels Crypto Trade Volumes
The coronavirus scare has ravaged the global economy by touching every continent on the planet. The covid-19 virus can lead to severe illness and even death as it has caused the nation state’s politicians to shut down the economy. Bureaucrats have forced the citizenry to stay-at-home with specific lockdown mandates. Bureaucratic leaders have also shut down major industries including services like hotels, restaurants, airlines, cruises, and more. Essentially, depending on your jurisdiction, a shelter-in-place (lockdown) order means residents are asked to stay home and not leave their residence to travel unless it’s an emergency.
All of these actions have caused the stock market to crumble, real estate markets shudder, and oil has dropped below $20 per barrel of crude. Just like bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets, on ‘Black Thursday’ March 12, gold took a big hit and dropped to a low of $1,579 per Troy ounce. Since then, gold has gained 5.3% in value to-date, as an ounce of fine gold
