The Federal Reserve’s latest H.6 money stock report shows US M2 reached $23.05 trillion in May, the first time it has crossed the $23 trillion mark and a new all-time high. M2 stood at $22.80 trillion in April, which means a $247.8 billion monthly increase. From January’s $22.43 trillion level, the aggregate has expanded by roughly $623 billion in four months. The gauge has now risen for five straight months, with annual growth accelerating to 5.6%, the fastest since July 2022.
Money supply rebound sparks fresh QE debate
M2 tracks cash, checking deposits, savings deposits, and retail money market funds, making it one of the most widely cited broad money measures in the US. As the series pushed to a record, criticism of the Fed also picked up, with some observers arguing that the central bank may be quietly reopening the door to quantitative easing.
The Mises Institute, a longtime Fed critic, said in a report that money supply growth in 2026 has climbed to a multiyear high and pointed to what it described as a quiet return of QE through balance sheet expansion and securities purchases. The Fed did not attach any comment to the release. Mainstream economists offered a different reading: after the rare contraction seen in 2022 and 2023, part of the current increase may simply reflect a return toward longer-term trend growth rather than a new stimulus cycle.
Bitcoin’s debasement hedge case returns to the spotlight
For Bitcoin investors, a record in M2 tends to revive one familiar argument: Bitcoin as a hedge against currency debasement. A number of analysts have long linked Bitcoin’s major bull and bear cycles to broad changes in global liquidity. This time, the focus is less on whether M2 is rising and more on how quickly that rise is accelerating.
The same concern over fiat stability appears in official gold buying. World Gold Council data cited in the source shows that official institutions added a net 41 tonnes of gold in May, extending an average annual buying pace of about 1,000 tonnes over the past four years. It also said 45% of reserve managers plan to increase gold holdings, a record high. Devere Group CEO Nigel Green said the strength in gold reflects growing unease over the stability of fiat currencies.
Bitcoin and M2 are no longer moving in lockstep
Still, rising money supply has not translated directly into gains for Bitcoin. According to the source material, combined M2 across the major central bank blocs — the US, Europe, China, and Japan — had reached about $101.7 trillion by early July, while Bitcoin’s year-to-date performance had turned negative. That divergence has led some analysts to question whether the old liquidity-driven Bitcoin thesis still holds up in the current market.
The latest M2 record has clearly revived the debate around Bitcoin’s role as a debasement hedge. The data, though, also shows that the relationship is not clean, and market participants remain split on how much broad money growth can still explain Bitcoin’s price action.