EncryptoTel weekly digest (25.03.20)
Rise of Zoom, opportunities for stablecoins and bitcoin, and the effects of the pandemic
Zoom shares jumped 3 times
Zoom Video Communications (ZM) is one of the few companies whose shares do not collapse with the rest of the stock market. On the contrary, the platform for distance business communications gained interest with their shares showing significant growth. Zoom held an IPO in April 2019 on the Nasdaq, selling shares at $ 36 per share. Now the value of its shares has reached yet another high of $ 120. Last day, stocks added 15% each, amid reports of increasingly strict measures of social distance in various countries. If during the IPO the company’s value was estimated at $ 9 billion, now its market value has exceeded $ 24 billion.
“I had to turn off my phone because everyone called me,” said Eric Video, CEO of Zoom Video Communications. Zoom stocks were also backed up by reports of problems faced by the Microsoft Team platform.
Investors are buying stablecoins amid falling cryptocurrencies
Against the backdrop of the crisis in the cryptocurrency market, which collapsed after bitcoin, stablecoins tied to the US dollar exchange rate are an island of calm for investors. On March 12, Tether, the issuer of the most popular stablecoin in the crypto world, reported that the market capitalization of issued coins for the first time exceeded $ 5 billion amid growing interest in the most stable, liquid and wealthy currencies in the cryptocurrency market.” In the days leading up to March 12, Tether already noticed growing investor demand for its stablecoin and issued $ 500 million in USDT in response.
USDT — a number one coin by the daily trading volume, which exceeds bitcoin, and according to CoinMarketCap amounts to $ 57.5 billion over the past 24 hours.
Coronavirus and Telecom: How the Pandemic Affected the Industry
Business Insider predicts the negative impact on the telecom industry due to the spread of the new coronavirus and provides a list of five negative scenarios:
1. Violation of the supply chain, affecting telecom equipment manufacturers, including Apple. Ultimately, for Apple, this will lead to a significant reduction in iPhone shipments in the first quarter of 2020 — by 10%, predicted by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
2. Cancellation of important technology conferences and missed partnership opportunities. The Mobile World Congress (MWC), scheduled to take place February 24–27 in Barcelona, was canceled due to the coronavirus. And this conference is the most important international event in the telecom industry. Although many conferences have switched to the online format, participants are unlikely to be able to fully adopt to online communication.
3. Demand for early deployment of 5G. As work and communication move online, it becomes apparent that organizations need full-time, faster communications to get the most out of their work. This includes telemedicine capabilities and online conferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangouts.
4. The development of virtual reality (VR). The widespread introduction of quarantines, may lead to the need to create convenient VR-solutions. For example, virtual simulators for specialists in technical specialties or teleconferences with the effect of full personal presence.
5. The development of smart city technology. Unmanned aerial vehicles with temperature sensors, chatbots, applications for diagnosing and communicating with your doctor — the coronavirus pandemic will lead to the development of intelligent solutions to maintain the daily work of urban infrastructure.
Research: current crisis may open window of opportunity for bitcoin
A new BitMEX Research report examines the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the US economy and the adequacy of measures taken by central banks and governments to alleviate the current crisis. According to analysts at BitMEX Research, the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19 triggered the current financial crisis, which can be called one of the worst stock market crashes in history, similar to the financial crisis of 2008 and the collapse of the dotcoms in 2000. BitMEX analysts believe the current crisis could lead to an era of extreme inflation. This is a time of great opportunities for such a deflationary currency as Bitcoin, and, at the same time, the most severe test for it, according to BitMEX Research.
Despite a 53% drop in bitcoin from the peak of 2020 to its current level, its deflationary nature could attract new users to the crypto world if the government-supported fiat currencies face significantly higher inflation than many cryptocurrencies.
“In our opinion, this changed economic landscape, when the world economy and financial markets are shaken and do not have any significant anchor, when inflation targeting is absent, this can serve as the biggest opportunity that bitcoin has seen in its short life.”
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