U.S. M2 Tops $23 Trillion as Critics Flag Fed Stimulus

The Federal Reserve’s H.6 release put seasonally adjusted M2 at $23,052.3 billion for May, up $247.8 billion from April and about $623 billion higher than in January. The May figure is the first time the Fed’s broad money gauge has exceeded $23 trillion. Critics have linked the increase to a quiet restart of monetary stimulus.

M2, as reported in the H.6 series, includes currency in circulation, checking deposits, savings deposits, small-denomination time deposits and retail money market funds. The series has risen each month in 2026 after contracting through 2022 and 2023; that earlier decline was the largest since the Great Depression era.

The Mises Institute wrote that money-supply growth in 2026 reached a multi-year high and accused the Fed of restarting quantitative easing by expanding its balance sheet. The Fed publishes the H.6 figures without policy commentary. Mainstream economists note that money supply often expands with economic activity and that part of the recent rise represents a return to trend after the earlier contraction; some economists say the speed of the current increase is notable.

Market reactions followed the data. Bitcoin backers pointed to the $23 trillion print as supporting arguments about scarcity, noting bitcoin’s supply cap of 21 million coins. The World Gold Council reported official institutions added a net 41 tonnes of gold in May and that roughly 45% of reserve managers plan further purchases. Nigel Green, chief executive of Devere Group, described the gold rally as a sign of fading confidence in fiat currencies. Coinbase has expanded its offerings to include around-the-clock U.S. trading in gold and silver futures.

Investors and analysts are watching upcoming economic reports and Federal Reserve signals for clues about the pace of money growth. Softer U.S. labor reports have raised market expectations for easier Fed policy later in the year, a scenario that market participants say would likely accelerate money-supply growth. The next H.6 release, covering June, is scheduled for late July and will show whether monthly increases continue into the summer.