HISTORIC DROP: Bitcoin suffered its biggest drop in seven years, as fears over the spreading coronavirus triggered a new wave of selling in everything from stocks and junk bonds to cryptocurrencies. The 26 percent tumble, which wiped out bitcoin’s gains for the year, has undermined the investment narrative that the cryptocurrency is a safe-haven asset like traditional-market alternatives of U.S. Treasury bonds and gold. Full story
BROKEN RECORD: Ether fell by 33 percent in early morning trading, marking the asset's biggest drop in percentage terms in its five-year history. In terms of absolute numbers, ether saw greater declines during the 2018 bear market, when it fell from highs around $1,400 and saw price swings of several hundred dollars. Enter the ether
CRASH FALLOUT: Bitcoin’s flash crash on Thursday triggered the most long-short liquidations on crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX in 16 months. The market plunge caught most traders off guard, forcing liquidations worth $702 million on BitMEX alone. Crash course
BITCOIN BIOHACKERS: Anonymous bitcoiners are taking the search for a coronavirus vaccine into their own hands, bypassing academia, pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The “biohacking” effort by a group known as CoroHope is crowdsourcing bitcoin donations to fund the work. Full story
SURVEILLANCE SPREAD: As governments look to contain the spread of COVID-19, they’re turning to every tool at their disposal, including large surveillance networks, personal cell phone tracking, and AI and facial recognition. “Over time we see more and more intrusive use of technology and less ability of people to push back," Maya Wang, a senior China researcher for Human Rights Watch, told the Guardian. Full story
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