The pandemic caused by coronavirus is taking more and more harvest all over the world. Its effects are already being felt by global economies. According to the estimates of the International Monetary Fund, the global economy will shrink by 3% in 2020, which is much worse than during the crisis in 2008-2009.

The most optimistic scenario assumes the disappearance of the pandemic in the second half of 2020. With the normalization of global health, economies are expected to grow slowly.

The 2020 economic crisis has its name “The Great Lockdown”

Each significant global event has its name. The largest economic crisis in the history of capitalism, which occurred in 1929-1933, was called the “Great Depression”. In turn, the economic downturn of 2008-2009 was called the “Global Financial Crisis”.

The economic crisis caused by COVID-19 is more and more often referred to as “The Great Lockdown”. This formulation was used on Tuesday by Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gita Gopinath, who said:

“This makes the Great Lockdown the worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis. (in 2008).”

The term “Great Lockdown” largely refers to travel bans. In some countries such as India, you can leave your houses or apartments once every three days.

We can also consider the “Great Lockdown” in the context of global economies. Many of them have been “blocked” and development has slowed down significantly. According to IMF forecasts, the biggest drops await Europe -7.5%. Compared to last year’s increase of 1.2%, this will be a giant “handbrake”.

A chance for Bitcoin The forecast economic crisis caused by COVID-19 may prove to be an opportunity for Bitcoin. The most popular cryptocurrency in the world has recently seen significant increases. After the price collapse in March and a drop below USD 4,000, the BTC exchange rate increased and at the time of writing this article hovers around USD 7,000. Bitcoin halving is still ahead of us, which from the perspective of history was the “driving force” for growth. Bitcoin has never witnessed a serious economic crisis, which is why this test is so important. So far it looks perfect.