The White House has redirected its official COVID-19 information portal, COVID.gov, to a new landing page titled “Lab Leak: The True Origins of COVID-19.” Late Friday night, the administration dropped a post on X saying “DEFINITELY DON’T VISIT COVID.GOV,” followed by a giggling emoji.
The page may not serve as conclusive evidence of the pandemic origins that claimed more than seven million lives globally and was responsible for some of the worst economic turmoil our world has ever seen, but it’s a clear endorsement of the theory that the pandemic began with a laboratory accident in Wuhan, China.
Five main arguments of the Lab Leak theory
The landing page cites the final report from the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, and presents five main arguments supporting the lab leak hypothesis.
It claims that the virus exhibits features not found in nature, originated from a single human introduction, and that researchers at Wuhan’s top SARS lab fell ill with COVID-like symptoms in the fall of 2019, long before the virus appeared at the wet market.
The report also affirms that China’s foremost SARS research lab (with a history of gain-of-function research) is based in Wuhan and alleges that it has “inadequate biosafety levels.” Finally, it argues that if there had been evidence of a natural origin, it would have appeared by now.
The administration also attacks public government officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, and New York mayor Andrew Cuomo for promoting research designed to dismiss the lab leak theory, and for making false statements to the Select Subcommittee.
COVID-19 and the crypto markets
The COVID-19 pandemic is widely recognized as a “black swan” event, an unpredictable and unprecedented crisis that sent shockwaves through global financial markets in March 2020. The rapid spread of the virus and the announcement of global lockdowns triggered extreme volatility and panic selling across asset classes, including crypto.
Bitcoin and other digital assets, which had not previously experienced a major systematic crisis, saw sharp declines as investors rushed to liquidate positions and seek safety in cash. Between March 12 and April 1, 2020, the crypto market underwent a period of intense panic and sell-offs, mirroring broader market uncertainty. Bitcoin, which had traded near $7,000 before the crisis, saw its price plunge alongside equities as investors scrambled for liquidity.
However, thanks to the magic money printers of global governments worldwide pumping trillions into their economies, the crypto sector quickly rebounded. By July 2020, the market had largely recovered, and Bitcoin began a historic rally. By early 2021, Bitcoin surpassed $40,000, with the broader crypto market following suit.
The U.S. government’s direct stimulus checks became a defining feature of its economic response, mailing a $1,200 stimulus check to all American citizens to tide them over during the lockdown period. It’s worth noting that, should that money have been invested in Bitcoin in April 2020 instead of being spent, it would now be worth over $17,000, a gain of nearly 1,400%.
The dramatic rebound of the crypto market illustrates the volatility and opportunity that defined the pandemic era. As the White House doubles down on the lab leak theory, the economic and financial legacies of COVID-19, including the extraordinary rise of Bitcoin, continue to shape government policies and investor behavior.
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