CryptoWorld goes on under the pandemic pressure: Changelly's Eric Benz on the industry's perspective

The World Health Organization (WHO) made an official announcement last week about the coronavirus outbreak being a pandemic. The panic around COVID-19 grows stronger each day, with all important sports and cultural events being canceled. The European Union closes its borders while people are stocking up on supplies. At the same time, the Russia - Saudi Arabia oil price war has arisen and brought about another wave of panic to the financial sector of the world economy.

It is against this backdrop that the global stock market has suffered its greatest losses since 2008. On March 9 we experienced another Black Monday, with Wall Street indices falling by more than 7%. Right after that, there was Black Thursday, when stock markets dropped by 9%. Following the trend, the crypto market faced its own troubles. On March 12 the price of BTC was $6,139 and dropped by almost 30% the day after. While the whole world is quarantined, the crypto industry struggles with its everlasting companion – volatility. As of March 19, the price of BTC hit $6,223.

We’ve asked Changelly crypto exchange CEO Eric Benz to share his opinion on the COVID-19 virus situation. Benz has already stated that the virus has negatively affected the global economy and thus created a sense of fear among people, which resulted in some exchanges being shut down. But how will it affect the crypto industry in particular?

Benz claims that, “There is no doubt that this is a massive wake up call for many industries and individuals across the globe. One thing is certain though; the world will never be the same. This situation has further highlighted the need for a decentralized network to facilitate the much needed global financial framework. As unfortunate this virus has been it also could be seen in the future as being the catalyst to put blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies on the forefront of advancement and implementation.”

Just like the rest of the world, crypto companies have to cancel conferences and global meetings to prevent the virus from spreading. Eric Benz stresses that it won’t affect the continuous development of the industry. Moreover, Benz himself believes cryptocurrency is going to rise again.

“I’m not certain the cancellation of crypto events will play a major role in the direction the crypto industry goes. If anything, the entire industry needed to have fewer conferences anyway so let this be a moment of self-reflection and to really focus on the products, which need to be built in order to really make this ecosystem practical in the real world.” He continues, “Crypto is indeed responding to the global epidemic and it’s safe to say it’s still proving to be as resilient as intended. There will constantly be growing pains with any new technology let alone industry and I am confident that crypto will again moon.”

Today, most governments are dedicating a lot of their resources and attention to fighting the threat of COVID-19. Some say now might be a good time for them to pay a little less attention to crypto in terms of regulation tightness. In Benz's view, however, it is not very likely, as there isn’t sufficient ground yet to hope for regulation weakening. Despite that, Changelly CEO is quite optimistic about the possible outcomes of the current crisis:

“What I can say though is that this will shift the focus and importance on the development of products and services, which can immediately benefit a global economy.”

Speaking of the development of products and services, Eric says that the Changelly team follows all the main rules to ensure full protection from the virus.

“We have implemented all the right procedures for our staff and have also advised our customers all the necessary measures to take in order to not be at risk whilst also keeping your family and loved ones safe. We continue to work hard and will update our community accordingly.”

We do hope that the climax of the coronavirus hysteria has now passed, and the world, as well as the global economy, can finally return to stability. Don’t forget to wash your hands and keep up with BTC price updates.