(Photo Illustration by Filip Radwanski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The price of bitcoin fell 48 percent in two days and lost 30 percent of its value this week, moving in tandem with risk assets and challenging the narrative that bitcoin acts as a safe haven asset in times of political and economic uncertainty.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $5,364, about 40 percent up from a low of $3,858 late Thursday night – the lowest since May 2019. Bitcoin has historically demonstrated strong recoveries from similarly violent sell-offs.
Crypto exchanges briefly went offline early Friday morning, and the New York State Department of Financial Services is requiring licensed crypto firms to produce coronavirus contingency plans.
On Thursday afternoon, between President Trump's speech about travel restrictions and before Christine Lagarde's speech in which she refused to cut rates, the crypto markets fell 20 to 30 percent in the span of an hour in one of bitcoin's sharpest ever selloffs. Gold, platinum, palladium, gasoline, and sugar plummeted around the same time.
"The latest market meltdown centers around liquidity (or lack thereof) as investors sell whatever they can to minimize additional losses or cover their positions," Kevin Kelly, lead analyst at Delphi Digital, said in an investor note Thursday. "The old adage 'cash is king' rings truer than ever at times like this as markets crater and hysteria takes hold. Beware fakeout rallies and false bottoms as they've claimed more careers than they've made."
According to a Wall Street Journal report, McDonald's is closing its U.S. offices this week ahead of planned layoffs. The report cited an internal memo that told managers to stay home through the week, so they can inform employees of the layoffs virtually.
Cheddar News breaks down what to look for Next Week on the Street. Donald Trump will be arraigned after his indictment this week while jobs data for March will be released.
NBA's Giannis Antetokounmpo and investor John Koudounis are launching an ETF to make investing more accessible, with 10% of profits going to charitable causes. Both joined Cheddar News to discuss their partnership and explain the importance of their venture.
UPS has more than 100,000 drivers on roads across the globe. Lindsay Cordova, Site Manager for UPS Integrad, joins Cheddar News to discuss what this intense training entails, and its Circle of Honor program for employees.
A federal appeals court has ruled that a 2018 Twitter post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk unlawfully threatened Tesla employees with the loss of stock options if they decided to be represented by a union.
Major news organizations such as The New York Times and Washington Post are declining to pay to have their accounts verified on Twitter ahead of the anticipated changes on the platform Saturday.
Netflix said it plans to reorganize its film unit with the aim of making fewer movies a year as it looks to cut costs with layoffs and a reorganization in the works.
