It's not every day the Federal Reserve chair pick becomes the headline catalyst for crypto, but here we are.
After a brutal, leveraged sell-off across digital assets, traders are now re-pricing what the next chapter at the US central bank might look like.
And this time, the name at the centre of it is Kevin Warsh.
Related: Largest crypto exchange announces surprising plan after Bitcoin crashes
Trump taps crypto-friendly face to lead Fed
President Donald Trump said on Jan. 30 that he will nominate former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chair when Powell's term ends in May.
Trump announced the decision in a post on Truth Social, calling Warsh:
"One of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best."
Warsh, who previously served on the Fed's Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, lands on the market's radar at a tense moment. Investors are watching inflation , rate-cut expectations and the Fed's independence, all while risk assets swing hard on headlines.
Related: Bitcoin, XRP jump as Fed holds rates steady
Why Warsh stands out on crypto
Warsh isn't a Bitcoin maximalist, but he's also not a reflexive crypto skeptic.
In a 2018 Wall Street Journal opinion piece , Warsh argued that the volatility of Bitcoin (BTC) volatility makes it a poor currency, but added it
"Might… serve as a sustainable store of value, like gold."
He's also previously framed Bitcoin through a generational lens. In a 2021 CNBC interview, Warsh said :
"I guess if you are under 40, bitcoin is your new gold,"
Warsh also has had direct exposure to the crypto industry.
He was an early investor in crypto ventures including the now-defunct algorithmic stablecoin project Basis and crypto asset manager Bitwise .
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What a Warsh-led Fed could mean for policy
Warsh is often associated with a more hawkish, credibility-first approach to monetary policy, skeptical of staying too loose for too long and more willing to argue that inflation outcomes are ultimately a policy choice.
For crypto markets, that split matters. A Fed that stays tighter for longer can pressure liquidity-sensitive assets in the short term.
But Warsh's openness to digital assets as an idea, and his willingness to treat Bitcoin as a legible store-of-value trade for some investors could also reinforce the view that crypto is becoming a permanent part of the macro conversation. Not something policymakers can ignore.
Still, not everyone is convinced markets will welcome the shift.
Markus Thielen , founder of 10x Research, told CoinDesk that Warsh's long-standing emphasis on monetary discipline, higher real rates and reduced liquidity could weigh on assets like Bitcoin that have benefited from easy financial conditions.
At press time, crypto remained under pressure as traders digested the Fed transition headlines. Bitcoin traded at $82,584.78, down 6.0% over the past 24 hours, while Ether fell 6.4% to $2,739.29 and XRP slid 5.6% to $1.76.
The sell-off came alongside elevated derivatives activity. Coinglass data showed $347.9 billion in 24-hour trading volume, $127.3 billion in open interest and $1.80 billion in liquidations over the past day.
Related: Mysterious trader buys millions ahead of Supreme Court's Trump tariff ruling
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Jan 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
