Analyzing the impact of the pandemic on crypto and the explosive growth of DeFi, including Bitcoin's third halving and the rise of NFTs.
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on human lives and the world economy when it broke out in early 2020. The crypto world was battered as well, with the cryptocurrency market plummeting in March of that year. Bitcoin lost 52% of its dollar value in a day and Ether lost 43%, shaking up decentralized finance as it fell.
The lockdown had a slower but more profound effect on crypto. As the world became housebound, screen time rose steadily, and interest in cryptocurrency soared, along with market capitalizations. Soon, emerging technologies were undergoing development and implementation at a pace previously unseen.
The first steps in decentralized finance (DeFi) were taken in 2017 with the development of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. MakerDAO (DAI) and Compound Finance (COMP) were early market leaders. In June 2020, Compound Finance introduced yield farming, also known as liquidity mining, a method of arbitrage that shifted crypto assets to attain the highest interest, fees and rewards. It is now common practice.
