The growing number of people affected by the coronavirus in the New York metropolitan area is forcing many cryptocurrency and blockchain companies in the region to prepare for an unpleasant event: their offices may close without warning and their employees may have to start working remotely .
Currently, over 200 New York City residents have tested positive for coronavirus. But the financial hub of 8,6 million people is also beginning to sense signs that a larger outbreak could soon erupt.
Fast moving situation
Kadena, development company for invest In blockchain in Brooklyn, he acted quickly because he had been mulling over a remote working model for some time, said Will Martino, the company's CEO. "The coronavirus made the choice fairly simple," said Martino.
The company, since February 21, has been using Web tools such as Slack and video conferencing instead of in-person interactions. But most companies in the US have not yet enforced mandatory work from home policies.
Their actions have been more suggestive than affirmative, leaving employees the opportunity to work remotely if they wish. The exchange of the Winklevoss twins has asked employees at risk to start working remotely, as well as anyone who has doubts about their own. Health & Safety.
The blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis every day sends its employees home with laptops and chargers in tow, not knowing if the next day it will be safe to reopen the offices, and is encouraging them to greet each other by "banging their elbows" rather than with the traditional handshake.
Nobody is allowed to travel; anyone who feels bad is invited to stay home. The decentralized web startup Blockstack began "encouraging" its employees to work remotely on Monday, said Tom Gerrity, the company's human resources manager. And Tagomi, a primary cryptocurrency broker, is now doing the same, according to company manager Ryan Smith.
What happens in other U.S. states
Outside of New York, companies and institutions are taking different approaches. The US Securities and Exchange Commission closed a floor of its Washington DC office, and instituted an optional work from home plan for the rest of the building after an employee presented some of the signs of COVID-19.
Likewise, San Francisco-based Coinbase started work remotely, following an emergency plan shared for the first time by CEO Brian Armstrong last month. Google asks all North American employees to also work from home.
Martino di Kadena thinks that coronavirus may have wider implications for how Americans work. "I really feel that coronavirus will begin to normalize an orientation to work from home for American businesses," he said. After this pandemic, in "one or two years" more companies will have left their offices permanently.
