The People’s Bank of China has injected some 1.2 trillion yuan ($173.8 billion) to calm markets as coronavirus fears worsen. That’s more than the entire market capitalization of Bitcoin (BTC).

If you need further evidence for how small Bitcoin still is relative to global markets, look no further than China’s most-recent cash injection. Its central bank has just pumped $173 billion into the market in a single day—Bitcoin’s market capitalization is just $170 billion by comparison.

People’s Bank of China Hopes to Soothe Markets

After an extended Spring Festival break, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) hopes that the abundant liquidity provided will calm uneasiness over the coronavirus. The PBoC will also be stepping up credit lines to support businesses, hospitals, and other research firms that are at the forefront of the fight against the virus. The entire effort is an attempt to bring back confidence in a fractured market rattled by the disease. The 1.2 trillion yuan injection was done through reserve bond repurchase agreements. [Reuters]

Will it be enough to calm markets? Analysts are unsure, but skeptics will likely find the latest move to be yet another example of fiat currency gone awry. The fact that a central bank can print the entire market capitalization of Bitcoin (BTC) speaks to the runaway banking system issues currency at will. It also makes clear the stark differences between Bitcoin and fiat. One is fixed, deflationary, and a sound currency with mathematical limits; the other is inflationary and under the arbitrary control of central banks.

Central Banks Just Keep Printing Money

The most-recent cash injection by the People’s Bank of China is the largest since 2004. However, it’s not the only entity that thinks it can print currency at will to calm markets.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has been doing much of the same over fears regarding the repo market. As BeInCrypto reported on January 24, the New York Fed accepted another $55.3 billion in three-day repo bids to ease market uncertainty. The move is a continuation of a prior spending spree that saw the New York Fed inject another $57.7 billion on January 4th. When put in perspective, it seems that the PBoC’s most-recent 1.2 trillion yuan package is business-as-usual for central banks.

Bitcoin may provide us with an alternative, but the sheer size of central banks’ many spending sprees should make us realize how small the leading cryptocurrency really is. It still has ample room to grow if it wishes to position itself as a real alternative to our current, runaway monetary systems.