ETHCC Speaker Confirmed as Infected with Coronavirus Sparking Concern Jonathan Ganor 2020-03-11 13:11:37 666 views

Will Cryptocurrency Conferences Suffer as A Result?





The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been spreading rapidly since it was discovered in January. The virus has infected over 120,000 people from across the globe, leaving more than 4000 dead. Some countries have attempted to curb the spread of the disease by enforcing quarantines and restricting travel.

The financial damage caused by the virus has also been noted. Most markets have taken a blow and have reported declines. This includes stocks and indices but also what many considered safe-haven assets such as gold and cryptocurrencies.

It appears that another victim of the virus outbreak is cryptocurrency conferences. Earlier today, Zhen Yu Yong, the founder of Torus has stated on Twitter that he has fallen ill with the virus. Torus simplifies log ins to one click for dApps in a non-custodial manner.

I fell ill yesterday and have just been diagnosed with #COVID2019. Everybody who had close contact @EthCC_ or @ETHLondon with me should take extra precautions and/or get tested â Zhen Yu Yong (Zen) (@zenzhenyu) March 11, 2020

Zhen was a speaker at ETHCC which took place in France and has also attended ETH London. Both events had many attendees, probably in the thousands. Individuals who have come in close conduct with Zhen should take heavy precautions such as self-isolation and possibly get tested.

Hypothetically this could put a few thousand cryptocurrency enthusiasts at risk.

The doctors who are currently treating Zhen have told him that his infection might have originated in France. Zhen has floated the possibility that he was perhaps infected at the Ethereum Denver conference or the Stanford Blockchain Conference which took place in February. As the incubation period with Coronavirus is a rather lengthy one this is a possibility.

Currently Zhen is recovering in a hospital in Singapore. Seeing that he is rather young and has access to a reputable hospital in an advanced nation, there is a very high chance he will recover from the illness. Regardless it might be nice to wish him a quick recovery.

One thing is certain for now, big events and conferences might be better off avoided for health reasons. Perhaps VR meetups will fill the void.

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