Gambling on Bitcoin with Trump’s $1,200 corona check was a good bet

The US government recently sent $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks to every lower-and-middle class American, but it wasn’t long before cryptocurrency exchanges reported influxes of Bitcoin purchases for exactly that amount.

That was in mid-April, when Bitcoin traded at around $6,600. Since then, the price of Bitcoin has risen above $9,200, which means those who bought Bitcoin with their “corona cash” are well in the green.

[Read: Democrats counter Trump’s fake coronavirus news with AI that fought ISIS propaganda]

In fact, Bitcoin fans who immediately used their stimulus money to stack sats would’ve paid $1,200 for around 0.179 BTC.

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Now, that’s worth in excess of $1,650 — a value increase of more than 25%.

Trump’s corona cash turned into Bitcoin stimulus

While “investing” with the US government’s stimulus cash isn’t exactly advisable, a brand-new Twitter account tracks the value of Bitcoin bought with Trump’s $1,200.

Albeit only a few days old, @BitcoinStimulus tweets periodic updates on how much (or how little) that gamble has paid off.

$1575#bitcoin

— $1200 Stimulus Is Now Worth (@BitcoinStimulus) May 4, 2020

$1609#bitcoin

— $1200 Stimulus Is Now Worth (@BitcoinStimulus) May 5, 2020

Americans haven’t just bought cryptocurrency with their corona cash. A week after the first round of checks were delivered, Business Insider reported that recipients had spent it on video games, weed, sneakers, and sex toys, among other things.

According to data sourced from a set of insurance companies and digital banks, just 16% of spent stimulus money went towards food (including delivery and takeout), while only 9% had gone to groceries.

So, you mightn’t be able to eat Bitcoin, but there’s likely least a few buyers out there who’ve made the most of their stimulus checks, however risky.

This is not investment advice. This is for educational purposes only. Do your own research, damnit. No, really, don’t buy Bitcoin because you read this article. Past performance is not indicative of future results. I’m not even qualified to tell you that. See what I mean? Do your own research. Please.