The knee-jerk reaction to Donald Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve is that the president made the most hawkish selection among the four reported finalists for the job.
In the wake of last night’s leak that Warsh was to be the choice, risk markets — crypto among them — fell sharply, with bitcoin plunging all the way back to $81,000.
“The branding of Kevin as someone who’s always hawkish is not correct,” Stanley Druckenmiller told the FT on Friday. “I’ve seen him go both ways.”
Druckenmiller — who made billions working alongside George Soros at Quantum Fund and with his own family office, Duquesne Capital Management — is surely in a position to know. Warsh has been a partner at Duquesne since 2011.
The relationship between them has previously been described as close to father-son, with the two speaking and/or texting more than a dozen times per day.
“I could not think of a single other individual on the planet better equipped,” Druckenmiller continued.
Where does Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fit in?
Druckenmiller also has very close ties to Scott Bessent. It was Druckenmiller who hired Bessent at Quantum Fund more than 30 years ago, where the to-be U.S. Treasury Secretary made his own billions.
“The pair [Bessent and Warsh] embody the way Druckenmiller interprets markets and economic policy,” wrote the FT in a profile roughly one year ago.
“I’m really excited about the partnership between [Warsh] and Bessent,” Druckenmiller said today. “Having an accord between the Treasury secretary and Fed chair is ideal.”
Citi (C) said the CLARITY Act remains the key catalyst for legitimizing digital assets in the U.S., but progress is slowed by negotiations over its most contentious provisions.
While the Senate Agriculture Committee has advanced its version of the bill, the bank noted the Banking Committee still controls the toughest issues, leaving timelines uncertain.
Lawmakers are expected to keep working even during a potential shutdown, with target dates in the coming months still attainable, though there is a rising risk that talks delay final passage beyond 2026.
“We see the passage of the CLARITY Act as the essential catalyst for advancing/legitimizing digital assets,” analysts led by Peter Christiansen said in the Friday report.
Crypto market structure legislation aims to define who regulates digital assets in the U.S., how tokens are classified and which activities fall under securities or commodities law. The framework is critical to giving crypto firms and investors legal clarity, reducing regulatory overlap and bringing activity back into the country after years of enforcement-driven oversight drove companies abroad.
The bill’s supporters argue that clear rules will unlock institutional adoption, encourage innovation and curb offshore risk, while critics warn that poorly drawn lines could stifle decentralized technologies.
The analysts flagged decentralized finance (DeFi) definitions as the biggest hurdle, with debate focused on defining the point at which decentralized protocols, software and developers become regulated service providers.
An overly restrictive framework could weigh on Web3 development, decentralized exchanges, derivatives, stablecoin yield and layer-2 networks, with any compromise likely to hinge on custody and surveillance rather than pure software neutrality, the analysts said.
The analysts also said they see more scope for compromise on stablecoin rewards, suggesting options such as time-limited yield or alternative incentive structures, even as banks warn of regulatory arbitrage and crypto firms argue rewards are key to adoption. Citi said the issue does not undermine its longer-term view on cross-border and business-to-business stablecoin use.
On tokenized equities, the report said fears of bypassing traditional market infrastructure have driven resistance, but potential workarounds include clearly classifying tokens as securities, keeping distribution within existing rails, using hybrid settlement models or launching an SEC pilot. Such approaches could support innovation without upending the securities value chain, the report added.
Coinbase’s (COIN) decision to end support for U.S. market structure legislation won’t derail the process, investment bank HSBC said in a report earlier this week, suggesting that while the exchanges CEO, Brian Armstrong, prefers no bill over a bad bill, he would probably accept a sensible compromise.
Read more: Coinbase opposition won’t stymie U.S. crypto market structure bill, HSBC says
Warsh is known as having a neutral to positive stance on Bitcoin and crypto.
U.S. president Donald Trump announced via Truth Social his nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve today, Jan. 30.
The decision comes as Trump continues to criticize current Chair Jerome Powell’s monetary policy decisions, particularly his handling of interest rates.
The nomination also comes shortly after the Fed recently decided to leave interest rates unchanged in its latest meeting, as The Defiant reported earlier.
Kevin Warsh, a partner at Duquesne Family Office, served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011 after being appointed under the George W. Bush administration.
Warsh on Crypto
Known as a longtime critic of loose monetary policy, Warsh has also been skeptical of crypto’s role as money. In a 2018 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Warsh wrote that Bitcoin’s price volatility “significantly diminishes its usefulness as a reliable unit of account or an effective means of payment.”
However, in a 2021 interview for CNBC, Warsh admitted that “Bitcoin does make sense as part of a portfolio […].”
This past July, Warsh said in an interview that he doesn’t consider Bitcoin “a substitute to the dollar,” and thus doesn’t see it as a threat to Fed policy.
The news failed to boost the crypto market, which continued to tumble over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin has slipped below $83,000 and is down over 6% on the day, with the total crypto market capitalization losing 5.5% to reach about $2.9 trillion.
Powell’s policy has faced scrutiny from both political figures and market participants, and especially from President Trump, as The Defiant reported earlier. Trump has spent the first year of his second term as president openly and frequently criticizing Powell, including calling him a “very stupid person.”
Powell’s tenure ends in May, and Warsh still needs Senate confirmation before becoming the next Fed Chair.
This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.
Bitcoin’s latest turn left a dent. As of Jan. 30, 2026, at 8:45 a.m. EST, bitcoin trades at $82,564, dragging a $1.64 trillion market cap behind it, with 24-hour trading volume pushing $92.39 billion. Price action on the day ping-ponged within a high-low range of $87,985 to $81,314—tightrope walking a cliff’s edge. Bitcoin Chart Outlook […]
US President Donald Trump said Friday he will nominate former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the US central bank, setting the stage for a high-stakes Senate confirmation battle.
The decision, announced by Trump on his social media platform Truth Social, confirmed Thursday reports that Trump would move ahead with the 55‑year‑old ex–Fed official and Morgan Stanley banker as his preferred candidate.
The president said that he had known Warsh for a long time and had “no doubt” that he would go down as “one of the “GREAT Fed chairmen, maybe the best.”
Prediction markets and Wall Street commentators had increasingly tipped Warsh as Trump’s likely choice, with odds rising sharply ahead of Friday’s announcement.
Warsh’s record at the Fed
Warsh served on the Federal Reserve Board from 2006 to 2011 and has since been a frequent critic of ultra‑loose monetary policy, calling for a “regime change” at the Fed and questioning its post‑crisis balance sheet expansion.
Trump announces his pick for Fed Chair. Source: Truth Social
Warsh has been noticeably more upbeat on Bitcoin (BTC) than Powell, who repeatedly played down the cryptocurrency’s importance for the United States economy.
In a July discussion hosted by the Hoover Institution, Warsh rejected the notion that Bitcoin would weaken the Fed’s ability to steer the economy, arguing instead that it could act as a form of market discipline.
Market reaction and gold sell‑off
Warsh’s selection comes as traders have already been repricing risk assets, including Bitcoin, around the prospect of a more hawkish Fed chair and the threat of a partial US government shutdown.
Gold advocate and analyst Peter Schiff argued that the “crash” in gold and silver today had “nothing to do with Trump nominating Kevin Warsh to be Fed chair.”
He said that Trump would not have nominated him if he thought he would be a hawk, and, anyway, “even the most hawkish FOMC members are still doves.”
The nomination will require confirmation by the US Senate, where lawmakers are expected to scrutinize Warsh’s past calls for tighter policy and his criticism of the Powell Fed’s approach to regulation and crisis interventions.
Magazine: Meet the onchain crypto detectives fighting crime better than the cops
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy
Cryptocurrency investment products faced heavy outflows on Thursday as the total crypto market capitalization fell about 6%.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) funds recorded nearly $1 billion in outflows, among the largest of the year so far, according to SoSoValue.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) led the sell-off, shedding $817.9 million, exceeding last Wednesday’s $708.7 million outflows and marking the largest daily outflow since November 2025.
The crypto decline coincided with broader market weakness, including a 4% drop in gold after a recent surge above $5,300, according to data from TradingView.
Industry observers linked the market slump to fresh tariff threats by US President Donald Trump and concerns over AI-related tech stocks amid Microsoft shares plunging 10%.
January flows turn negative after $1 billion in outflows
Bitcoin funds extended losses this week after a series of outflows, including $147.4 million on Tuesday and $19.6 million on Wednesday.
By Thursday, cumulative weekly outflows had reached $978 million, pushing Bitcoin ETF flows into negative territory for January after another $1 billion in outflows last week.
Bitcoin ETF flows since Jan. 15. Source: SoSoValue
Overall, spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded about $1.1 billion in net outflows so far this month, according to SoSoValue data.
Despite the sell-off, Bitcoin ETFs remain a significant part of the market. With $107.65 billion in assets under management (AUM), they account for about 6.5% of Bitcoin’s total market capitalization of about $1.65 trillion.
Altcoin funds extend losses, with outflows across ETH and XRP
Negative sentiment persisted across altcoin investment products, with spot Ether ETFs logging $155.6 million in outflows, while XRP (XRP) funds shed $92.9 million.
Solana (SOL) ETFs saw more modest outflows of $2.2 million, following inflows of about $10 million earlier in the week.
Total market capitalization since November 2025. Source: CoinGecko
With $16.75 billion in AUM, Ether ETFs account for around 5% of the asset’s market capitalization of about $330 billion.
According to an update by CoinShares, total AUM in crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) stood at $178 billion by the end of last week, accounting for 5.7% of the entire market cap.
Related: Valour launches Bitcoin, Ether ETPs for UK retail investors after FCA ban lift
At the time of writing, total crypto market capitalization stood at about $2.92 trillion, after peaking above $3 trillion a day earlier.
Alongside Microsoft’s stock slide impacting on the broader market sell-off, blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant cited high leverage exposure as a key factor in the crypto downturn.
CryptoQuant’s analyst Darkfost specifically pointed to high leverage positions at the decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid, with $87.1 million in long positions wiped out within just a few hours.
Magazine: A ‘tsunami’ of wealth is headed for crypto: Nansen’s Alex Svanevik
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy
President Donald Trump on Friday announced Kevin Warsh as his nominee to serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve, confirming speculation that intensified overnight as prediction markets sharply shifted in Warsh’s favor.
“I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, praising Warsh’s background in monetary policy, finance, and government service. Trump added that Warsh would go down as “one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best.”
Warsh, 55, previously served as a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, becoming the youngest Fed governor in history at age 35. He also acted as the Fed’s representative to the G-20 and oversaw internal operations as an administrative governor.
Currently, Warsh is a Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is also a partner at Duquesne Family Office, working alongside billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller.
By the time of the announcement, Polymarket traders priced Warsh’s likelihood of being selected at roughly 95% late Thursday, up from about 39% earlier in the day, while Kalshi markets showed similar probabilities after Trump confirmed he would announce his decision Friday morning.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kevin Warsh would replace current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term is set to expire in May.
The nomination ends weeks of speculation, during which Trump’s shortlist was widely believed to include National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, and BlackRock fixed-income chief Rick Rieder.
Kevin Warsh’s bitcoin and crypto views
Warsh’s nomination is drawing particular attention from digital asset markets due to his relatively crypto-friendly public comments. Speaking at the Hoover Institution’s “Inflation Is a Choice” event last July, Warsh rejected the idea that bitcoin threatens the Federal Reserve’s control over monetary policy.
“Bitcoin doesn’t trouble me,” Warsh said at the time. “I think of it as an important asset that can help inform policymakers when they’re doing things right and wrong. It is not a substitute for the dollar, but it can be a very good policeman for policy.”
🇺🇸 President Trump’s next FED Chair pick, Kevin Warsh on Bitcoin:
“I think of it as an important asset that can help inform policymakers when they are doing things right and wrong.”
He has also described bitcoin as a generational alternative to gold, remarking that “if bitcoin never existed, gold would be rallying even more right now,” while suggesting younger investors increasingly view bitcoin as “the new gold.”
Kevin Warsh has indirect ties to the crypto industry through early investments in the algorithmic stablecoin project Basis and advisory roles with crypto index manager Bitwise. However, his views remain nuanced; he has previously expressed openness to central bank digital currency frameworks — a position that contrasts with Trump’s firm opposition to a U.S. CBDC.
Despite his openness to bitcoin, Kevin Warsh is widely regarded as a monetary policy hawk. During his previous tenure at the Fed, he consistently emphasized inflation risks, even during periods of economic stress.
Bloomberg Chief U.S. Economist Anna Wong recently summarized the view bluntly: “If Trump wants someone easy on inflation, he got the wrong guy in Kevin Warsh.”
One of the hardest decisions a company can make is to wind down its operations. It’s not just emotional and complex but also often misunderstood from the outside. And while closures are hard, they don’t have to be chaotic, unfair or damaging to the people who trusted the brand. FundingTicks is a strong example of what it looks like to wind down operations with integrity, placing traders first, communicating clearly, and ensuring every user is treated with fairness and respect.
This is a story of responsibility.
1) winding down a Business Doesn’t Mean Abandoning Your Customers
FundingTicks approached its wind-down with a clear principle: customers should never carry the burden of internal business decisions. That’s why the process was handled in a way that prioritized users from the very beginning.
2) Refunds and Rewards Were Treated as a Commitment, Not an Option
When a business winds down, the most important question for users is simple: “What’s next? Where can I address my concerns?”
FundingTicks made sure there was no confusion. All eligible users were refunded and paid, and handled in a structured and transparent way.
Instead of leaving traders hesitant or worried, FundingTicks ensured that users had access to clear summaries and detailed breakdowns through their dashboard, so they could verify everything for themselves.
3) A Proper Winddown Is Built on Transparency and Structure
FundingTicks demonstrated what “doing it right” looks like by ensuring:
Eligibility criteria were defined and consistently applied.
Rewards and refunds decisions were based on account status at the cutoff time.
Processing was handled in good faith, with proper verification steps.
Users had access to full breakdowns and clear confirmation steps.
This isn’t just good operational practice, it’s what protects traders and preserves credibility.
4) How you exit is just as important as how you enter.
By refunding users, paying reward splits, and treating traders with respect and as a whole throughout the process, FundingTicks proved that accountability matters, especially in the final chapter. In simple words, FundingTicks has set a benchmark for the prop firm industry of how to both operate or wind down a firm.
And with $30 million in rewards paid to traders, FundingTicks leaves behind more than a closure announcement. It leaves behind a legacy of contribution, fairness, and responsibility.
Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure
US President Donald Trump is expected to unveil his pick for the next Federal Reserve chair on Friday morning, with former Fed governor Kevin Warsh emerging as the clear market favorite, an event that could jolt rate expectations and, by extension, Bitcoin and crypto volatility.
Warsh met with Trump at the White House on Thursday, according to reporting from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal’s Nick Timiraos, after Trump told reporters he planned to announce his choice Friday. Trump added a pointed tease about the mystery candidate: “A lot of people think that this is somebody that could’ve been there a few years ago,” a nod to the fact he considered Warsh for the job roughly eight years ago before selecting Jerome Powell.
What Warsh Means For Bitcoin And Crypto Markets
The fastest repricing has happened not in Treasuries, but in prediction markets. Polymarket’s contract on Trump’s Fed chair nominee is currently showing Warsh at 93%, with the market displaying roughly $302 million in volume, levels traders interpreted as a leak-driven stampede rather than a slow drift.
Who will Trump nominate as Fed Chair? | Source: Polymarket
That surge dovetails with a Bloomberg report saying the Trump administration is preparing for a Warsh nomination, and with commentary from macro traders who see the process tightening into a single outcome.
Several market observers frame a potential Warsh chairmanship as dovish on the policy rate but hawkish on the Fed’s footprint. Macro trader Alex Krüger wrote via X: “Warsh has advocated for a structural overhaul of the Federal Reserve and a ‘new Treasury-Fed Accord.’ He posits that an AI-driven productivity boom is inherently disinflationary, providing the basis for aggressive rate cuts. He also contends that the Fed’s balance sheet has been used to subsidize Wall Street and should be reduced significantly, signaling a strong stance against QE.”
Former Fed trader Joseph Wang distilled the trade-off more bluntly: “A Warsh Fed looks to trade lower asset prices for a lower rate path… This is a step to reverse Bernanke’s wealth effect.” That framing matters for Bitcoin and crypto because it separates “rate cuts” from “easy financial conditions”—two concepts markets often conflate during risk-on moves. Wang added an ominous shorthand: Warsh “will get you a lot of cuts, but you might not like how we [get] there.”
Warsh’s reputation as an inflation hawk also complicates any clean “dovish” label. Bloomberg’s Chief US Economist Anna Wong shared the below analysis and resurfaced a 2009 inflation comment attributed to Warsh, made months after Lehman and with core PCE still low, arguing that if Trump “wants someone easy on inflation, he got the wrong guy.
Warsh’s inflation assessment during the FOMC meeting from 2006-2011 | Source: X @AnnaEconomist
Chief Market Strategist at Wellington-Altus James E. Thorne added via X: “Kevin Warsh remains the strongest choice for Fed chair because he uniquely combines market credibility with a clear willingness to reset policy in a more disciplined, rules‑based direction. He is structurally hawkish on inflation and the balance sheet, but tactically flexible enough to support meaningful rate cuts when conditions warrant, which aligns with the Trump–Bessent objective of moving the funds rate lower without sacrificing institutional legitimacy.”
Krüger conceded Warsh’s track record “is not the best,” while still arguing there is “unique credibility in a former inflation hawk advocating for aggressive cuts.”
Warsh, Bitcoin, And ‘Market Discipline’
For Bitcoin and crypto, one underappreciated angle is that Warsh has publicly described Bitcoin in surprisingly non-hostile terms. In a Hoover Institution interview published July 8, 2025, Warsh rejected the idea that Bitcoin threatens the dollar, while still treating it as a policy signal. “Bitcoin does not make me nervous,” he said. “I think of it as an important asset that can help inform policymakers when they’re doing things right and wrong. It is not a substitute for the dollar.”
Kevin Wash on Bitcoin, the white paper and its role alongside the dollar:
Warsh also cast Bitcoin’s role as a kind of feedback mechanism for central bankers: “I think it can often be a very good policeman for policy,” he said, before widening the lens to distinguish “real innovators” from “imitators” and “incompetents” in the broader proliferation of crypto tokens.
At press time, Bitcoin traded at $82,695.
Bitcoin falls below the 0.786 Fib, 1-week chart | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView.com
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.
