Bitcoin and Stocks Rises As Washington Slips Further Into Desperation 

If there’s one thing that has remained constant throughout the novel COVID-19 outbreak, it is the correlation between the cryptocurrency and traditional stock markets. Over the past week, both markets have reacted similarly to governments’ macroeconomic responses to the virus, and in more ways than one, the stock market has dictated how crypto assets’ prices will move. 

New Quantitative Easing Measures Have No Limit

The latest in such twists seems to be a positive one. Recently, the United States Federal Reserve announced a set of fresh stimulus plans to ensure that the American economy remains above water. According to an official release published in the early hours of today, the Federal Reserve announced on Monday that it would institute several measures, including and especially a continuation of its asset purchasing program. 

On the program, the Federal Reserve explained that it would be purchasing assets “in the amounts needed to support smooth market functioning and effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions and the economy.”

Essentially, this is a quantitative easing program that doesn’t have a limit. Other initiatives announced include an unspecified lending program that will help everyday businesses, as well as the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility that was implemented in 2008. There will also be a $300 billion program that will help to support the flow of credit to the economy and two credit facilities for large employers.

It’s worth noting that the Fed already cut interest rates to zero and set a $700 billion limit on its bond-buying program. With these new measures put in place, however, it would appear that all caution has been thrown to the wind.

Surges Across the Board

As expected, markets immediately responded positively to the news. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average eventually ended up trading as low as 260 points in the red, finance news medium, CNBC confirmed that the index saw a surge early in the day. On the crypto side, however, it’s been green all through. Bitcoin finally broke the $6,000 mark conveniently on Sunday, marking the first time that the top cryptocurrency was able to achieve the feat since the market turndown began. While it eventually slipped back into the $5,700 region late in the day, the news of the new quantitative easing measure sent its price surging.

Bitcoin surged from $5,860 to $6,628 in an hour after the announcement was made, and it has been able to hold on to that point since then, per Coinmarketcap. At press time, Bitcoin is now trading rather comfortably at $6,258 – up 2 percent on the day.

Gold, Bitcoin’s chief competitor in the war of alternative safe-haven assets, also saw a surge as it moved from $1,494 to $1,524 over the same time frame. The price correlation across all of these assets has been interesting to watch, although it looks more like Bitcoin is providing more value for money – per usual.