The Trump administration is weighing at least 11 contenders to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair when his term ends in May. Among them, at least three have expressed favorable views toward cryptocurrency.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday that there are “11 very strong candidates” for the role, and that the vetting and shortlisting process will begin next month.
According to an August 13 report by CNBC, which cited two administration officials, the list includes Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, Fed Governor Chris Waller, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, and former Fed Governor Larry Lindsey.
The roster also features former Bush administration economic adviser Marc Sumerlin, Jefferies’ chief market strategist David Zervos, and Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer for global fixed income.
The Federal Reserve plays a central role in setting U.S. interest rates, which directly influence market behavior. Lower rates tend to boost liquidity and encourage investment in higher-risk assets such as cryptocurrencies, while rate hikes typically prompt investors to pull back from riskier bets.
Zervos and Rieder Seen as Having Indirect Crypto Links
Jefferies, where David Zervos serves as chief market strategist, has been active in the digital asset space through its investment banking arm. The firm supported the recent stock market debuts of trading platform eToro, stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, crypto exchange Bullish, and crypto-focused lender Figure Technology Solutions. It also backed MicroStrategy’s early Bitcoin acquisition strategy and, according to reports, has maintained a senior banker focused exclusively on crypto for more than five years.
BlackRock’s Rick Rieder has likewise shown openness toward digital assets. In a Wall Street Journal interview in early 2024, he suggested Bitcoin could become a significant component of portfolio allocation as broader acceptance grows. He previously told CNBC in 2020 that cryptocurrency is “here to stay,” highlighting strong adoption among younger generations. Today, BlackRock manages the world’s largest exchange-traded funds for both Bitcoin and Ether.
Headline-style: Feds’ Waller, Bowman make crypto-friendly moves
Other potential candidates include the Fed’s Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, both of whom have recently voiced supportive views on cryptocurrency.
On August 20, Bowman — the Fed’s top regulatory official — suggested that central bank staff should be permitted to make small personal investments in crypto. She argued this would give them a “working understanding of the underlying functionality” and help regulators better engage with the technology.
A day later, Waller remarked that banks had “nothing to fear” from crypto payments operating outside the traditional financial system, describing it as simply a new way to transfer and record transactions.
By contrast, Chair Jerome Powell has taken a more reserved stance. While acknowledging in June that crypto has gone mainstream and predicting deeper bank involvement, he has generally urged caution. In December, he remarked that Bitcoin was more of a rival to gold than to the U.S. dollar.
Powell’s term as Fed chair concludes in May, though his 14-year tenure on the board runs until early 2028. His closely watched speech last Friday fueled hopes of an upcoming interest rate cut, with markets now anticipating that the Fed will lower rates at its mid-September meeting.
