US Senate Approves $1.9T Stimulus Plan; Measure Now Returns to the House

The Senate passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid 19 relief package Saturday, in a possible positive development for cryptocurrencies.

• The measure, which was passed by a 50-49 party-line vote, now heads back to the House, which would have to approve Senate changes to the package before it can head to the president for signing.
• The House is expected to take up the measure next week, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• The legislation would provide $300 in weekly unemployment benefits through early September, send $1,400 payments to some Americans and direct $350 billion to state and local governments.

Why this matters to the crypto world:

1. Because the stimulus package would likely be a boost for stock markets, it could also provide a lift to the price of cryptocurrencies, particularly if stimulus check recipients use that money to buy cryptocurrencies.
2. Crypto investors have been betting for months that the flood of government and central bank spending to fight the coronavirus-caused economic slowdown will eventually lead to inflation, which would also be beneficial for bitcoin.
3. All the stimulus is calling into question the independence of the Federal Reserve, which to prevent short-term economic ruin has been basically printing money with abandon, leaving itself open to criticism about the mountain of debt these spending sprees are creating.

• The price of bitcoin (BTC) moved back into positive territory after news of the bill's passage broke, quickly rising $500. At press time, the price of BTC was $48.212.74, up 0.21% over the last 24 hours.