Kevin Hassett Emerges as Frontrunner for Fed Chair, Bringing Strong Crypto Ties

Kevin Hasset, the current Director of the White House National Economic Council (WHNEC), is the leading front-runner to replace Jerome Powell as Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, a report from Bloomberg has revealed.

Hassett is an economist and has close ties to the crypto world, having been a key player in the White House digital asset market working group inside the WHNEC, which recently released a report making several recommendations around crypto regulation. 

That report was described by Cody Carbone, CEO at crypto lobby group The Digital Chamber, as likely to become “a regulatory Bible.” Carbone told The Block in July that the report would “…dictate every rulemaking or guidance document that comes out over the next three and a half years.” 

In June, Bloomberg reported that Hassett disclosed an investment in Coinbase worth at least US$1 million (AU$1.5m) and up to US$5 million (AU$7.7m) — Hassett’s total reported assets were listed as at least US$7.6 million (AU$11.7m). Hasset also disclosed that he’d received US$50,001 (AU$77k) from Coinbase’s Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council.

Some of the other leading contenders include current Fed Governor Christoper Waller, former Fed official Kevin Warsh, the Fed’s vice-chair of Supervision Michelle Bowman, and former BlackRock exec Rick Rieder. After Trump nominates a new Chair, they’ll go before the Senate for consideration and possible confirmation.

Related: Deutsche Bank Blames Risk-Off Mood and Hawkish Fed for Bitcoin’s Six-Week Slide

Final Decision on Next Fed Chair Still Uncertain

Jerome Powell’s term as Chair ends in May 2026. While Hassett is reportedly the frontrunner at the moment, it’s still far from certain who might replace Powell when his term ends in May of next year. As the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Bloomberg, “nobody actually knows what President Trump will do until he does it.” 

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire current Chair Jerome Powell over his refusal to cut interest rates as Trump has demanded. Firing a Fed Chair for refusing to do what the president wants is, however, extremely difficult since the Fed is famously supposed to be free from political interference.

If Hassett were to be appointed the next Fed Chair, it would mark another senior position filled by a pro-crypto figure and give President Donald Trump a trusted ally to potentially help him enact his fiscal policies.

Good for Trump, yes, but not so great for faith in American institutions. Trump’s very public attempts to bully the Fed have raised questions about its independence, once Trump has hand-picked its leader. 

Related: Trump Taps Michael Selig to Lead CFTC as US Pushes Toward Crypto-Friendly Regulation

When speculation arose in July about Trump potentially appointing a successor to Powell early, in an effort to exert more pressure, TS Lombard economist Dario Perkins wrote: 

We don’t even know who that person is, and already there are strong doubts about their integrity and what sort of ‘deal’ they have made to secure the position. But it seems pretty clear that Powell’s replacement will come with a ‘tacit understanding’ to cut rates.

Dario Perkins, TS Lombard economist

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