US Debt Reaches $26T, or 2.6B Bitcoin as OECD Asks For COVID-19 Spending
US Debt Hits $26T, or 2.6B Bitcoin as OECD Asks For COVID-19 Spending
The U.S. now reached debt equal to an enormous 2.65 billion Bitcoin (BTC) — more than 21 times the number of coins that will ever exist — and OECD demands more.
According to the data provided by statistics monitor U.S. National Debt Clock, the United States’ gross debt has crossed the historic $26 trillion threshold for the first time.
U.S debt since March beats Bitcoin supply
The unfathomable number is a result of several months of inflationary measures taken by the Federal Reserve, which have seen the dollar supply increase dramatically.
The U.S. M2 money supply now stands at a record $18.115 trillion, while the Fed’s balance sheet has reached $7 trillion.
The debt milestone did not slip unnoticed past Bitcoin advocates, with the @Bitcoin Twitter account stating that the number was equal to 2,653,061,224 BTC as of June 11.
In just two months, @Bitcoin noted, the tally had increased by 204,081,632 BTC — itself far more than Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million units.
OECD: More public debt “necessary”
The debate around digital scarcity proceeds in the week that the Fed is about to discuss how to naviage the way out of the coronavirus meltdown.
M2 growth highlighted Bitcoin’s opposite trajectory to fiat in terms of money supply, weeks after the cryptocurrency’s third block reward halving event reduced emission by 50% and inflation to 1.8%.
At the same time, a damning report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, brought serious doubt to a so-called V-shaped economic recovery, and stated that governments should instead get ready to a second coronavirus wave.
“Ultra-accommodative monetary policies and higher public debt are necessary and will be accepted as long as economic activity and inflation are depressed, and unemployment is high,” it argued.
“However, debt-financed spending should be well targeted to support the most vulnerable and the investment necessary for a transition to a more robust economy.”
