29.03.2024

Coinbase Releases its Plan for the Coronavirus Spread

According to a document shared publicly by CEO Brian Armstrong, Coinbase is preparing a four-tier escalation response to COVID-19. Each phase of the plan will be triggered by an increase in the number of people infected with the coronavirus or local governments responding with quarantines in close proximity to Coinbase offices.  

Every day there are new stories of travel disruptions and public gatherings in Asia being cancelled due to the threat of the COVID-19 virus, AKA the coronavirus. Cryptocurrency and traditional markets have also been affected, with Bitcoin dropping 3% in value due to the virus being detected in Italy.

When it comes to crypto exchanges handling the spread of the virus, Coinbase is preparing for the worst case scenario.

Three phases of Coinbase’s response

Once there have been more than 100 cases of “in-the-wild person-to-person virus transmission”, Phase 1 will take effect. Coinbase’s plan includes minor measures like increasing the frequency of cleaning their offices and restricting “office visitors to essential personnel only.” However, it also gives employees the option of working from home.

The second phase will be implemented when there are 1000 cases similar to those in Phase 1, or some form of government-imposed quarantine is in effect. It escalates the Coinbase response by stopping all visitors to their offices and no longer offering meals on site.

The third phase, however, comes with a disclaimer: “Containment has failed, it’s going to be a wild ride.” Coinbase employees would be required to work from home, and third-party services in offices for cleaning and snacks would most likely be unavailable for an indefinite time. Offices will essentially be in lockdown.

Where Coinbase will be implementing these measures

The crypto exchange has offices in the United States, Japan, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. A Phase 1 response is currently in place for their Japan office.

At the time of the document’s release, Coinbase has restricted business travel for its employees to China, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, and South Korea. Despite these measures, Armstrong remains confident “the risk of COVID-2019 coronavirus to most employees is low”:

«Our expectation is that the measured mortality rate (once low-severity cases are included in the overall count) will fall significantly and that we’ll see limited transmission in the west, where there will be fewer high density multi-generational housing situations.»

This is not the first problem Coinbase has faced. In June 2019, the cryptocurrency trading platform crashed, causing the price of Bitcoin to fall by $1,400.

CryptoKitties Creator and UFC to Launch Tokenized MMA Tamagotchis

Dapper Labs, the company behind CryptoKitties, has announced a partnership with leading mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

According to a press release on Feb. 25, the partnership will see the development of “a new digital experience” for UFC fans, including opportunities to own, maintain, and trade UFC-branded collectibles on Dapper Labs’ Flow platform.

Dapper Labs to launch Flow this year

Flow is Dapper Labs’ forthcoming blockchain project, which the firm describes as a developer-friendly platform for building blockchain apps, games and digital assets. The company will launch Flow before 2021, with the development of UFC collectibles starting this quarter.

The platform will allow fans to own gamified “tokenized representations of their favorite fighters” resembling Tamagotchis, with fans able to train, level up, and manage diets to qualify for different weight classes.

A Dapper Labs spokesperson emphasized that fans will be given autonomous ownership over their tokens, stating: “spending money in Flow apps is more like collecting sneakers or signed gloves you can sell on eBay anytime, rather than spending money in video games.”

The spokesperson added that Flow has seen “enormous interest” from “organizations and individuals across music, entertainment, and sports.”

Dapper Labs and UFC introduced by Endeavor

The partnership came about following an introduction from Endeavor – a Dapper Labs investor. Endeavor indicated that the UFC was “open to new technology projects and interested in deepening fan relationships.”

UFC senior vice president of global consumer products, Tracey Bleczinski, stated: “UFC is thrilled to partner with Dapper Labs to offer a new form of digital collectibles to our global fanbase. UFC prides itself on being innovators in sports technology, and Flow is another way to provide our fans with the best entertainment experience.”

Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou described the platform as offering UFC’s fanbase “a real ownership stake in the game they love and the communities they’re a part of.”

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