Trump’s Fed Chair Pick: Bitcoin’s New Best Mate?

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News Analysis

What to know:

  • Ah, the Fed Chair merry-go-round! With Jerome Powell’s term teetering on the edge like a wobbly circus performer, the spotlight swings to BlackRock’s Rick Rieder, the latest darling of Trump’s unpredictable heart.
  • Rieder, you see, is not just any old finance fellow. He’s the sort who looks at a bar of gold and scoffs, “How quaint!” while whispering sweet nothings to Bitcoin.
  • Back in 2020, when most were still scratching their heads over digital doodads, Rieder proclaimed Bitcoin would dethrone gold. Bold? Yes. Bonkers? Perhaps. But here we are!

The Polymarket betting pool has been more chaotic than a chocolate factory run by squirrels, but Rieder’s star is shining brighter than a golden ticket. As BlackRock’s chief investment officer for global fixed income, he’s not just climbing the ladder-he’s rocketing to the top, all while humming tunes about cryptocurrencies.

“Bitcoin will replace gold,” he declared in a CNBC interview, “because it’s so much more functional than passing a bar of gold around.” Oh, the horror of such practicality! And recently, he added, “Bitcoin and gold are like the sensible socks in your investment drawer-they give you a bit of ballast.” Charming, isn’t he?

In September, when Bitcoin was soaring above $112,000, Rieder predicted, “It’s going to go up.” Well, it’s now hovering around $88,000, thanks to tariffs and geopolitical hiccups. But hey, who’s counting?

Trump, the maestro of nicknames, has called Powell everything from “dumb” to “Mr. Too Late.” Ouch! But Rieder? Trump finds him “very impressive.” High praise from the man who once put Powell in the hot seat, only to later grumble about his every move.

Rieder, ever the diplomat, calls it “an unbelievably honor” to be in the running. And why not? He shares Trump’s impatience with the Fed’s snail-paced interest rate cuts. His odds on Polymarket? They’ve leaped from a mere 3% to a whopping 53%, now settling at 48%. Quite the rollercoaster!

For the crypto world, a Fed chair is like a wizard with levers. But will Rieder’s crypto cheerleading translate into regulatory magic? Perhaps not. Powell’s deputy, Michelle Bowman, has been holding the reins on supervisory work. Still, a Bitcoin booster at the helm would be a first-a golden (or should we say, digital) moment.

Powell’s departure as chairman is nigh, but his term as a governor lingers. Will he stay or will he go? If he stays, Trump loses a seat to appoint another ally. The plot thickens, like a particularly sticky batch of fudge.

Trump’s barbs at Powell reached new heights last month when the Justice Department probed Powell over Fed building renovations. Powell’s retort? “The threat of criminal charges is what happens when you don’t dance to the president’s tune.” Drama, drama, drama!

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2026-01-27 18:51