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

The U.S. Senate passed President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package Saturday, a possible positive development for cryptocurrencies.

• The measure, which was passed by a 50-49 party-line vote, now heads back to the U.S. House, which would have to approve Senate changes to the package before the bill can go 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 until early September, send $1,400 payments to some Americans and direct $350 billion in aid to state and local governments.

Why this matters to the crypto world:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.