This archive report was first published on 13 May 2020.
Published on May 13, 2020, the cryptocurrency market has witnessed a remarkable surge in demand and value during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to 2gether, a FinTech platform, there has been a staggering 236% increase in retail crypto transactions in recent times.
Bitcoin, often considered the poster-boy of cryptocurrencies, has also seen a significant growth of 22% week-on-week, while basic crypto purchases accounted for around 75% of all trading operations on the 2gether platform.
Interestingly, Bitcoin has continued to outperform gold during the coronavirus pandemic, and over the course of the last 12 months overall.
During this period, gold has increased consistently by 14%, while Bitcoin has seen its value soar by a whopping 70%.
As the global economy crashes, it's hard to understand why cryptocurrencies are outperforming gold, a widely considered safe-haven during periods of austerity and economic tumult.
However, the reason for this may be relatively simple; most cryptocurrencies, apart from selected stablecoins, aren't linked to fiat currencies and therefore impervious to forex market shifts and diminishing base interest rates.
On a similar note, cryptocurrencies are also largely immune to a host of macroeconomic factors, making them less malleable to the impact of economic decline.
As investors look to adopt an increasingly risk-averse approach and sell assets for cash, crypto is fast-emerging as a digital 'safe-haven' to hedge hard-earned capital.
