Zinger Key Points
- Stimulus payments were given to U.S. residents in 2020 and 2021 to help offset the COVID-19 pandemic's effects.
- Spending, saving and investing were among the popular choices made by recipients of COVID stimulus funds.
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The COVID-19 pandemic hit businesses and consumers with items like business closings, job cuts and layoffs. The aftershocks continue today, with higher inflation and a tight job market coming on the back end of the pandemic.
The U.S. government gave out several stimulus payments during the height of COVID to help individuals and families deal with rising costs and job losses.
Those who received the stimulus checks were free to do with the money as they wished, including potentially investing it if they did not need the money for bills or savings.
What Happened: In 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. Under the law, Americans received three rounds of stimulus payments. While some used the money for bills and to boost their savings, others chose to invest in stocks and cryptocurrencies.
The CARES Act paid out $1,200 to eligible adults and $500 more for those with qualifying children for its first stimulus payment.
The subsequent Tax Relief Act of 2020 paid out an additional $600 per eligible adult and up to $600 more for those with qualifying children in December 2020. The American Rescue Act of 2021 provided an additional $1,400 payment to eligible adults and up to $1,400 for those with qualifying children.
Here's a look at the return a consumer would have if they put their stimulus checks ($1,200, $600 and $1,400) into leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin BTC/USD, Dogecoin DOGE/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD.
The hypothetical results are based on the dates of April 11, 2020; December 29, 2020; and March 12, 2021 for the stimulus checks.
Related Link: 2021 Was The Year Of Dogecoin: A Month By Month Retrospective With Top Stories
Stimulus Checks in Bitcoin: Investing in Bitcoin with a portion of the stimulus checks may have been a popular option for investors and people looking to store some of the payment away from the U.S. government.
Bitcoin traded at $6,926 on April 11, 2020, $27,370 on December 29, 2020 and $57,996 on March 12, 2021. A person who put all $3,200 from the stimulus checks into Bitcoin would have been able to purchase a total of 0.219 BTC.
Based on a price of $27,719.72 for Bitcoin today, that $3,200 would now be worth $6,070.62.
Stimulus Checks in Dogecoin: The meme cryptocurrency known as Dogecoin gained interest and value in 2021 thanks to retail investors and vocal public supporters like Mark Cuban and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Here’s how stimulus checks in Dogecoin would have fared.
Dogecoin traded at $0.0020 on April 11, 2020, $0.0046 on December 29, 2020 and $0.0570 on March 12, 2021. A person who put all $3,200 from the stimulus checks into Dogecoin would have been able to purchase 754,996 DOGE. Based on a price of $0.07243 today, that $3,200 would now be worth $56,043.35.
Stimulus Checks In Ethereum: One of the fastest-growing cryptocurrencies in 2021 was Ethereum, thanks to its connection to non-fungible tokens. Here’s a look at how stimulus checks invested in the second largest cryptocurrency would have fared.
Ethereum traded at $161.17 on April 11, 2020, $737.95 on December 29, 2020 and $1,839.50 on March 12, 2021. A person who put the $3,200 into Ethereum would have been able to purchase 9.02 ETH. Based on a price of $1,905.18 for Ethereum today, that $3,200 investment would now be worth $17,184.72 today.
Stimulus Check In All 3 Cryptocurrencies: A more diversified approach from an investor could have seen investments in Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum. Splitting the $3,200 into equal investments of the three cryptocurrencies on the respective stimulus payout days would have given an investor 0.0731 BTC, 251,665 DOGE and 3 ETH. The three cryptocurrencies would be worth $25,969.95 today based on equal investments from the three stimulus checks.
Read Next: How To Buy Cryptocurrencies
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, freepngimg.com.
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