Bitcoin is up 3.17% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $8,793, according to data tracker CoinMarketCap. The leading cryptocurrency, which has risen over $500 since Friday when it was priced at $8,272, has lifted the crypto markets across the board, pushing all of the top 30 coins into the green except for one altcoin – UNUS SED LEO – at time of publishing.
Meanwhile, US equities started the week with a major sell-off. All three major indices are in the red amidst fears of the coronavirus outbreak. The Dow Jones industrial average has plunged 400 points. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.8% and the S&P 500 has slumped 1.4%.
The coronavirus death toll has climbed to 81 as it spreads beyond the epicenter in Wuhan, China, with five confirmed cases in the US, according to a Johns Hopkins real-time data tracker. The virus has now infected more than 2,800 people with confirmed cases in several countries including the US, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, France, South Korea and Canada.
In an email to Yahoo Finance, Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, wrote,
“Investors are selling first and asking questions later. The Chinese economy – and possibly the world economy – will take a hit in the short run and lower prices are a rational response to the increasing spread of the coronavirus.”
In an interview with BlockTV, crypto consultant Nathaniel Whittemore says Bitcoin’s current rise is correlated with the uncertainty in the markets.
“Is Bitcoin’s movement up over the last 24 hours related inversely with what’s going on and fears in the market?…
Every single time we see something like this happen, where regular markets are down on some fear, on some volatility indicator, and Bitcoin goes up, it reinforces or adds merit to the idea that that’s what Bitcoin does in these situations, which means that people start to trade against that presumption the next time it happens.”
Featured Image: Shutterstock/Tom Wang