NYSE closes trading floor and will operate electronically

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) suddenly halted trading yesterday after two people on the floor tested positive for coronavirus.

Electronic trading

The unprecedented decision by the NYSE will see trading resume electronically on Monday, with traders being forced to operate remotely.

NYSE president, Stacey Cunningham, revealed how numerous safety precautions had been put in place to avoid the spread of the virus.

“We implemented a number of safety precautions over the past couple of weeks, and starting on Monday this week we started pre-emptive testing of employees and screening of anyone who came into the building,” Cunningham said on Closing Bell. “If that screening warranted additional testing, we tested people and they were sent home and not given access to the building. A couple of those test cases have come back positive.”

“While those people were not in the building this week and the building had been cleaned and addressed prior to start of trading on Monday, I think it’s reflective we’re seeing things evolve,” Cunningham added.

This is the first time in the NYSE’s history that the trading floor has been suspended while trading continues electronically, although it did grind to a halt completely during WW2 and after 9/11.

Case for crypto

With the traditional financial world scrambling to find a solution to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, cryptocurrency bulls have been quick to reveal that Bitcoin has never gone down in its 11-year history.

The fact that Bitcoin continues to trade all day every day could become a unique selling point for traditional traders who may be frightened at the lack of ongoing certainty.

Gunnar Jaerv, COO of First Digital Trust, a financial institution powering the digital asset industry, said: “With stock markets being suspended and fears of a recession, digital asset markets may become an unexpected source of liquidity for many. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week cryptocurrency and tokenized securities markets will not stop, even if it seems the rest of the market might.”

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