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6 Explanations for Crypto's Fascination With Coronavirus

Is it about self-sovereignty? About BTC as a reserve asset? Or are we just Chicken Little prophets of doom?

Updated Sep 13, 2021, 12:21 p.m. Published Feb 25, 2020, 8:00 p.m.
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We're concerned about coronavirus, but why? Is it about self-sovereignty? About BTC as a reserve asset? Or are we just Chicken Little prophets of doom?

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The spread of Coronavirus has dominated the news cycle across industries, but the discussion has been particularly fierce in both the finance and tech worlds, with crypto right in the lead.

For a month or more, prominent crypto voices have been discussing the event in terms of skepticism of reported government cases, questions of market impact and plans for personal preparation.

NLW surveyed more than 1,500 people on Crypto Twitter to ask why the crypto community was so interested in the Coronavirus.

These were the top answers:

This episode of The Breakdown also features an excerpt from Hidden Forces Ep 123: Market Nihilism: Price Discovery in a World Where Nothing Matters | Ben Hunt & Grant Williams

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Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

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Bitcoin climbs above $89,000 as U.S. dollar tumbles on President Trump's remarks

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