The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic had a big impact on the face of the world, and a lot of people are left curious about what changed as a result of it. Though it was undoubtedly a hugely negative experience for a lot of people, we also gained some big positives as a result of its influence – and it’s worth taking a few minutes to recognize those. What aspects of today’s world are the results of COVID-19 and the year that changed everything?

It’s always worth looking at the positives in life, without undermining the negatives – and some truly beautiful things came out of the pandemic: rediscovered passions, medical advancements, community feeling, and more. Let’s take a pause to explore some of the things that unfolded as a result of this world-impacting event.

Crypto’s Rise

A lot of people talk about just how much the pandemic accelerated the interest in crypto… not just in direct terms, but also in awareness. Many people had more leisure time to explore topics that interested them, and this led to greater interactions with crypto. There are a lot of likely factors at play, but some estimates suggest that the social isolation that came out of COVID elevated crypto investments by as much as 75%!

And of course, what an impact that has had in other arenas too. One of the most obvious is the crypto casino, which has risen to the fore in relatively recent times, and offers a host of advantages to excite punters. If you’re not familiar, a crypto casino will generally have the same games as a standard virtual casino (which is usually a vast number), but instead of just transacting in fiat currencies, allows for crypto payments too. This can be very beneficial for some; crypto offers an extensive range of benefits, including lower fees – which many casinos will pass on to their users in the form of better bonuses and withdrawal options.

If you’re not sure how this kind of thing works, it’s really straightforward. Playing Bitcoin blackjack is the same as playing regular blackjack, but you make deposits and withdrawals in Bitcoin. There are quite a few benefits to this! If you play Bitcoin blackjack at Bovada, for example, you’ll enjoy faster transfer times, meaning that if you win, you can access those funds much more quickly. Traditional banks may have made efforts to speed things up in recent years, but we’re still looking at days in many cases – whereas Bitcoin transactions generally happen within a few minutes.

It’s therefore not particularly surprising that the rise of crypto has also led to a rise in institutions using it – and it’s likely that as time progresses, the Bitcoin casino and other crypto casinos are going to become more and more common. This is almost certainly going to apply to other industries too; we’re likely to see more and more widespread acceptance of crypto in a whole host of spaces going forward.

Crypto is beneficial on a wider scale for a lot of reasons. It increases accessibility to financial services in many unbanked and underbanked regions. It’s a major leap ahead of traditional currency when it comes to two major factors – privacy and security. As we move into an increasingly digital age, it seems crypto could offer answers to many of life’s challenges. We shouldn’t underestimate the benefits the pandemic brought about by increasing our focus on this tool.

Work From Home

If the pandemic had one lasting impact, it’s been on the way we approach work. While work-from-home certainly existed in the days before, it was ramped up in almost unimaginable ways by the need to socially distance – and yes, many office workers have returned to in-person work, but a vast number haven’t. So what does that look like now?

A whole lot more flexibility, for one thing. Workers who previously would have spent many hours commuting have regained time, reducing congestion on the roads in the same breath, and increasing their job flexibility. It has become much more feasible to be fully remote and to enjoy work from across the country or even other parts of the planet as a result of companies being far better geared up for at-home work.

For a lot of people for whom accessing traditional work was challenging, this has opened up amazing opportunities and overcome barriers that they might have faced. While not always straightforward, there’s little doubt that it has enhanced work opportunities for a lot of groups!

Businesses have also enjoyed benefits; suddenly, they have access to a global talent-base, and far more flexibility over who they can hire. While not all businesses like or benefit from remote work, a lot do, and that’s meant this change has had a net positive from most angles.

Increased Focus Health

COVID-19 made a lot of people far more aware of how much their health matters – and while yes, it was a little alarming at points, it was also very valuable. Folks across the world made lasting changes to improve their health and wellness. Getting into sports of all kinds, taking up walking or hiking or swimming or yoga – it was impressive what a difference it made for many.

We saw the world start talking about health and fitness in far more concrete, focused ways, across a whole range of different activities. Whether it was YouTube fitness instructors stepping up their video content to help people access exercise routines at home or people connecting over their sports passions, exercise became a huge focus for many. Even more niche areas like boxing, which is superb for improving your cardiovascular health, gained attention and interest, with people posting about boxing on social media.

In short, our collective focus turned to physical activity and its importance – definitely a valuable shift in mindset that has continued to today’s world, at least to an extent.

It’s to be hoped that we can maintain these positives as we keep moving forward!