The Coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to a forced pause, to say the least. Citizens are being ordered to stay within their homes and to stay away from any non-essential travel. Due to the fact that society is essentially shut down, millions of people are losing their jobs, the stock market has been more chaotic than its been in over a decade, and most notably, no one can be one hundred percent certain of when this will be over.
As the U.S and the world at large watch their countries economies fall, people will begin to wonder; is now a good time to invest in bitcoin? During times of chaos, and extreme stock market volatility, bitcoin has historically fared pretty well. Of course, bitcoin has had its ups and downs, but overall it has remained stable during uncertain times.
Since it’s now more important than any time in recent history to keep a distance from one another, would now be the time to invest in a form of currency that doesn’t require any form of contact whatsoever? Now that the world has seen what can happen when we need to self-quarantine, many may realize the potential in bitcoin as a truly beneficial asset and form of currency.
Bitcoin vs. Stock Market During Chaos
Historically, bitcoin has fared decently well during times of uncertainty, especially when the stock market begins to tumble as investors become nervous. Ever since the COVID-19 epidemic has become widespread, and noted as a major health crisis, the U.S stock market has been more volatile than any time in recent history. It has dropped record amounts of points within just one day. On March 10, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped almost 8%, the most since the financial crisis.
Throughout this epidemic so far, bitcoin has seen it’s ups and downs. On March 19, bitcoin had shot up around 20%. Price had reached over $6,000 rather quickly, after just sitting at around $4,000 a few days earlier. As of right now, the price of bitcoin is set at $6,805, which clearly shows that it is currently doing well. But, this is certain not an indication that it will last long.
Despite it’s occasional surges, bitcoin has been performing slightly analogously with the stock market, and going down as the other does in unison.
CARES Act Implications
Now that the CARES Act has been passed, where qualifying Americans will receive a stimulus check, and billions of dollars will be pumped into the economy in various areas, some worry that the value of the U.S dollar will go down. Considering this prediction, it’s likely that many bitcoin investors are licking their chops at the thought of seeing a bitcoin surge as the U.S.D begins to lose value. If more money is being made, it wouldn’t be an irrational assumption that the currencies value could go down.
Despite the speculation, measures carried out by the CARES Act have not had too much effect on the price of bitcoin, at least yet. It is very possible that the value of the U.S.D could remain stable due to measures being carried out by guidelines in the CARES Act, and from financial institutions, such as lowering interest rates, giving personal loans for those with bad credit, relieving people of rent fees and placing restrictions on evictions, etc.
Conclusion
Even though bitcoin has done well in the past during times of uncertainty, it may be wise to give your decision some time before investing right away. To say the least, it is hard to predict how much longer we will be living in this state of society, and due to this, it’s hard to make an educated prediction as to where the price of bitcoin will be, even just a month from now.
Edel is an Editor with a decade of print and digital media experience – specializing in Science, Technology, Finance, Entertainment, and Advertising. He is also a stock and cryptocurrency investor. When Edel is not editing or analyzing charts, you can find him with his DIY lightbox taking timelapses of plants.
