Officials of China reported about 11 deaths and more than 500 people infected by the virus. The city where 11 million people are living, had its central market as the primary source of the virus. One of the city residents said to BBC journalists that ”the atmosphere there felt like the end of the world”.
Many Chinese folks continue traveling around the country during the holidays. Also, people in Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Vietnam reportedly have been visiting doctors in regards to the coronavirus. Outlets reported the first case in the U.S. on Tuesday.
Wuhan City, Province Closed, Trains Not Working
As of 10:00 Local Time (02:00 GMT), public transport in the city is locked. All the four train lines won’t deliver service. Health authorities said that people in the city should wear masks while being in the streets. The Taobao Chinese online trading marketplace warned the traders against increasing the prices on rubber gloves and head masks, possibly other medical goods.
In the Province, many of the regions put a stop on any kind of communications. The train and bus stations are not working in Huanggang, Ezhou, and Xiantao. In Chibi, the officials are suspending transport on the main roads.
People have raided the supermarkets buying off all the food and other supplies because the demand is high. Reporters keep sending photos of empty local markets with local merchants wearing the head masks.
Bitcoin Performance
It won’t be right to say that the major cryptocurrency has somehow seriously reacted to the current situation with the virus in China. The current Bitcoin price is under $8,400, though a couple of days ago it ago the prices were close to the $9,000 level.
However, we all know that Bitcoin is very sensitive to various geopolitical factors. Due to the well-known U.S.-Iran tensions, Bitcoin managed to climb to its near-two-month high of $9,194.99. It happened on January 13. But the positive tendency failed to continue as soon as the tensions cooled off.
Bridgewater Associates Bet on Gold Citing ‘Uncertainties’
The analysts from Bridgewater have recently set a phenomenal price target of $2000 for gold. All because the situation on global markets may get worse after the China blockade spreads further. Greg Jensen said:
“There is so much boiling conflict. People should be prepared for a much wider range of a potentially more volatile set of circumstances than what we are accustomed to.”
It is worth noting that Ray Dalio noted during summer 2019 that gold will be the first asset for investments during 2020. He was brave enough to note that its the Central Banks who ‘shift the global paradigm’ by purported devaluation of their currencies:
“Those that will most likely do best will be those that do well when the value of money is being depreciated and domestic and international conflicts are significant, such as gold. Additionally, for reasons I will explain shortly, most investors are underweighted in such assets, meaning that if they just wanted to have a better-balanced portfolio to reduce risk, they would have more of this sort of asset. For this reason, I believe that it would be both risk-reducing and return-enhancing to consider adding gold to one’s portfolio.”
Ray sounds like the man who looks deep into the matter. While the Internet spreads across the globe, people become more educated about finance. The moment when fiat currencies suddenly melt to zero is not just a cyberpunk dream, but a possible reality now.
Jeff Fawkes is a seasoned investment professional and a crypto analyst covering the blockchain space. He has a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing and is passionate when it comes to how technology impacts our society.
