US Stimulus Plan Is Steadying Global Markets While Crypto Takes a Dip

The $2 trillion stimulus deal in the U.S. wasn’t enough to keep many cryptocurrencies from taking a dip Wednesday. Bitcoin (BTC) was down a more than 1 percent over the past 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC, and only NEO (NEO) was a gainer, up by less than 1 percent. 

Ether (ETH) is down 2 percent. Other cryptocurrencies flashing red on the CoinDesk digital asset board include dogecoin (DOGE) in the doghouse by 3 percent and Dash (DASH) also in the red by 3 percent. 

Global equity markets, however, had a sunnier outlook. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed its trading session up a solid 8 percent. The Tokyo market has been positive all week because the Bank of Japan is purchasing record amounts of debt, injecting cash into the economy. 

Cash injections were also the topic of the day as U.S. policymakers try to deal with the coronavirus threat to the economy. After working out a deal on where the money will go, the full Senate is expected to vote later Wednesday on the bill to provide $2 trillion in relief to Americans. The S&P 500 index closed over 1 percent at 20:00 UTC. 

Markets are finally holding steady after panic selling erased years of S&P 500 gains that had topped out on Feb. 20.

“In 2008, when Lehman filed for bankruptcy, the immediate impact to financial markets was very similar to the reaction that we have witnessed as a result of COVID-19. Both events caused significant sell-offs in global equity markets and a flight to safety from investors, which was predominantly into USD,” said Jon Deane, CEO of InfiniGold, which has issued a digital gold token on a public blockchain.

Gold is down slightly on the day as of 20:00 UTC. “A devaluation of global currencies and long-term negative rates are both very positive for gold,” InfiniGold’s Deane noted. Cryptocurrency traders track gold closely, and watching other precious metals such as silver has also becoming a popular activity. 

“Goldman came out and said gold was a buy. Yet, if you look at the price of silver it’s telling a very different story. Silver either has to make a massive catchup or gold is headed lower,” said Rupert Douglas, head of Business Development, Institutional Sales at Koine.

Silver is making gains, and it is up 1 percent on the day as of 20:00 UTC. 

Despite markets fairing well, they are still on shaky ground given uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus’ affects on the economy. Worries about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy of limitless quantitative easing (QE) worries traders about the future prospects of the dollar. 

“Limitless QE makes cash questionable as a haven, when all this calms down,” said Henrik Kugelberg, a Sweden-based over-the-counter crypto trader.