Offbeat asset Bitcoin, too, became a victim of panicked withdrawals<\/a>. The benchmark cryptocurrency fell by $330, or 6.20 percent, to establish an intraday low of $5,001. It though managed to recover part of its losses heading into the US session but its trend at best remained choppy and volatile, risking sell-off.<\/p>\n The plunge in gold and bitcoin came as a part of a simultaneous sell-off in the US stock market<\/a>. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped<\/a> 5.7 percent, or 1190 points, to 20188 right upon the opening bell. The Nasdaq and S&P 500, too, opened 4.83 percent and 3.6 percent lower, respectively.<\/p>\n Investors typically treat both gold and bitcoin as safe-haven assets against underperforming risk-on assets like stocks. But the presence of the Coronavirus pandemic has disturbed the equation. Now, the safe-havens are also collapsing<\/a> under the pressure of the virus escalation, prompting investors to seek shelters in the nearby liquid markets.<\/p>\n Yields on government bonds offered by major economies, including the US, Europe, and Japan, surged to their highest weekly levels on Wednesday<\/a> on a similar sentiment. Bond prices move opposite to yield.<\/p>\n Jim Bianco, the President &\u00a0CEO of Bianco Research, said it the “largest risk-off event in history<\/a>” as even “the\u00a0safest instruments, the risk-off instruments, sovereign bonds including US Treasuries, are also getting hit.”<\/p>\n On the other hand, Erik Voorhees, the CEO of bitcoin exchange ShapeShift, said investors are losing trust in the government altogether, calling them bankrupt.<\/p>\n “Lending money to bankrupt governments will maybe not be seen as \u201csafe\u201d someday,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Even as bitcoin falls hand-in-hand with risk-on and risk-off markets, many believe the cryptocurrency remains the best hope for investors as the Coronavirus pandemic spreads further.<\/p>\n The upside sentiments appear as governments and central banks around the world promise to print hundreds of billions of dollars to safeguard the virus-hit economies. That has pushed demand for “sound money” among the risk-averse investors, including GoldMoney founder Roy Sebag.<\/p>\n The bitcoin skeptic said Wednesday<\/a> that both cryptocurrency and gold communities need to come together before “nascent republican socialism trend” takes over. Excerpts:<\/p>\n “We must channel our shared philosophy of sound money into the political decision-making process before it’s too late.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Gabor Gurbacs, the digital asset strategist\/director at VanEck, further commented that it is the best time for investors to learn about the deflationary aspects of Bitcoin.<\/p>\n #Bitcoin<\/a> is the vaccine that the world financial system needs to build up immunity against systemic failure. There was never a better time to learn about Bitcoin.<\/p>\n — Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) March 18, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"bitcoin,](\"https:\/\/wncen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/bitcoin-price-18032020-1.png?resize=860%2C509\")
<\/a>A Risk-off Disaster<\/h2>\n
![\"us](\"https:\/\/wncen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/ETZNZ41XYAAdxqo.jpeg?resize=860%2C645\")
<\/a><\/p>\nRecipe for a Bitcoin Boom<\/h2>\n
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