Dogecoin cofounder Billy Markus, who goes by Shibetoshi Nakamoto on X, has reacted to the proposal of a $5,000 stimulus check for every adult in the U.S., floating the idea of a $1.2 trillion Dogecoin buy instead.
Economists believe a one-time direct payment of $5,000 would do little to ease affordability pressures and could raise consumer prices further in the months ahead.
In August, consumers’ short-term outlook slipped further into negative territory, according to a Conference Board report. The University of Michigan’s latest consumer survey also showed that sentiment worsened due to concerns that inflation would remain high.
$1.2 trillion DOGE giveaway?
Markus is known for his characteristic humor, and his recent comment about a $1.2 trillion Dogecoin giveaway might be taken lightly.
Ranking as the 11th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Dogecoin is currently worth $13.24 billion. The coin has a current total supply of 155.88 billion DOGE (worth over $13.09 billion), with all these coins in circulation, so a $1.2 trillion DOGE buy might not be feasible, as it exceeds its total supply value.
Although Dogecoin has an infinite maximum supply, a fixed yearly issuance of 5 billion coins prevents excessive supply from flooding the market. This fact supports the narrative of a diminishing inflation rate for Dogecoin, meaning that each year, the rate of inflation decreases relative to the total supply.
Markus‘ comment might not directly imply a $1.2 trillion Dogecoin buy but rather highlight Dogecoin’s diminishing inflation rate property.
Direct payments to consumers are often considered inflationary, according to economists, and may cause prices to rise further, reducing the intended impact of a stimulus check.
The Dogecoin cofounder supports this viewpoint, stating that the $5,000 stimulus payment may be “inflationary when we don’t need more inflation.”
At the time of writing, Dogecoin was trading at $0.0849, up 1.75% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
