Rep. Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the Democrat-majority U.S. House of Representatives, told the White House on Sunday it has until Tuesday to reach a deal on a pandemic stimulus package or it would be unlikely to be passed before the presidential election, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- If no deal is reached by Tuesday evening, even if negotiations continue and are eventually successful, it's unlikely to produce a package before the Nov. 3 election, the WSJ said, quoting an aide to the Senate Democrat.
- House Democrats are seeking a $2.2 trillion relief package. While President Donald Trump has said he's prepared to go beyond his $1.8 trillion proposal, Senate Republicans, who are in the majority, are in favor of a much more modest package and may not support him.
- If a package isn't passed by the election, it might be well into February before one happens, the WSJ said, quoting Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.).
- Why this matters to crypto: Bitcoin (BTC) prices have been buoyed this year as investors bet that trillions of dollars of government and central bank spending around the world in response to the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown will inevitably result in inflation, and therefore be positive for the cryptocurrency.
- As such, if a stimulus deal is reached, BTC may rise further.