Exchange platforms like Binance and Coinbase have experienced cryptocurrency purchases for amounts similar to Americans’ subsidies.
Some Americans may be considering investing government subsidies in the purchase of cryptocurrencies. Experts believe that the odds of investing in digital currencies will increase in the coming months. This procedure could be a way to save funds and face the great economic challenge that will come after overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic.
As part of a government measure to protect citizens, the administration of Donald Trump approved the payment of direct subsidies for Americans. This decision seeks to provide essential goods to support the quarantine.
Since last week, the US issued millions of checks with the amount of USD 1,200 to the most vulnerable citizens. In total, the government invested USD 80 million and deposited the money directly into the bank accounts of the people most affected by the disease.
Given this high liquidity, some Americans may be considering investing these funds in buying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, instead of making purchases of goods such as food and household items or personal hygiene, some experts consider.
One of the experts who is considering this hypothesis is Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase. The executive recently published a tweet explaining that, during the last week, there has been a spontaneous growth in the purchase of cryptocurrencies on this exchange platform. He also assured that an important part of this increase was registered with deposits of up to USD 1,200.
Armstrong commented that until the second week of April, deposits on the platform of Coinbase accounted for 0.1 % in crypto purchases. He said that only this week, the figure tripled to 0.4 %.
The official explained that it is very possible because many Americans have begun to receive this subsidy and have decided to preserve the funds in cryptocurrencies. Most citizens are not working during the quarantine.
Although Armstrong assured that there is no way to verify this hypothesis, the possibility is feasible since most of the purchases were made for amounts close to or equal to USD 1,200.
Despite the economic disruptions that the United States of America has experienced in recent weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the increasing unemployment rate, there are still work activities that continue. In this way, economic experts indicate that the crisis has not yet come and that citizens may be looking for savings alternatives for the most difficult times.
In this sense, Binance US, another crypto-exchange platform, has also experienced an increase in deposits for the purchase of cryptocurrencies. “It appears that people have deposited exactly USD 1,200 in the past few days”, a company spokesperson said.
Despite this comment, the company declined to offer more details about the increase in its crypto-asset sales. Binance US recorded a large increase in deposits with an amount of USD 1,200, since last Thursday, April 16th. The cryptocurrency business has managed to regain profit after a slump in mid-March.
However, the precipitous drop in the stock price on the stock exchange, the decrease in profits in other forms of business, and the instability of some assets seem to give cryptocurrencies a higher level of confidence and security to keep savings at levels that avoid more losses in the future. In this way, cryptocurrencies could be acting as an important form to save money.
By María Rodríguez
