Are Californians About to Buy Crypto With These Relief Checks?

Governor Newsom to distribute checks up to $1,050 as a relief against inflation to California residents. How are they going to spend this amount?

In late June, The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, announced a $9.5 billion budget “to put money back in Californian’s pocket and to invest in the state’s future.” It will be delivered to residents from 7 Oct until Jan. 2023.

Who is eligible for the relief check?

Those who filed their 2020 tax return by 15 Oct 2021 are eligible for the relief fund. The amount varies based on the household’s annual income.

The minimum amount is $200 for the head of household, making annual income between $250,001 to $500,000. A married couple with dependents who filed a joint income of less than $150,000 will get an amount of $1050. Households making more than $500,001 annually are not qualified for the relief fund. People can check their eligibility in detail here.

California’s stance on cryptocurrency.

California has various investment and tech-savvy citizens as it is home to Silicon Valley. Hence cryptocurrencies are one of the favorite investment instruments of Californian citizens.

The State has one of the highest adoptions of cryptocurrencies in the country, with over 440 businesses accepting Bitcoin as a payment method in the State. Furthermore, California recently scored 100 for the keyword “Cryptocurrency” in Google Trends. Most notably, California’s Governor Newsom drafted a  legal framework for crypto adoption earlier this year.

How will Californians spend their relief fund?

The citizens might spend the amount for necessities in their day-to-day activities, such as paying bills and buying essential supplies.
The burning question is will citizens buy cryptos with relief funds? Citizens looking for a quick buck or hoping to strike it rich could consider crypto a potential investment opportunity.

In 2020, American citizens received $1,200 stimulus checks for Covid relief. Crypto trading platforms reported a surge in purchases equivalent to $1200. This indicates that some Americans may have bought crypto with their stimulus checks.

Popular stimulus tracking Twitter account @BitcoinStimulus, tweets about what will be the value of the $1,200 stimulus check if the amount was invested in Bitcoin.

There are speculations on how putting Covid stimulus checks on Dogecoin would have made over $500,000. Reddit users have reported profits of more than $12,000 by placing stimulus money into cryptocurrencies.

All these factors can create FOMO amongst stimulus receivers to put some money from their inflation relief checks into crypto. However, citizens might also avoid putting their money in crypto considering the bearish sentiments in the market currently. Only time will tell.

For Be[In]Crypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here