Cryptocurrency and crypto markets fell on Tuesday as Federal Reserve chairman nominee Kevin Warsh said US President Donald Trump never demanded he cut rates when he took over the central bank.
Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee, Warsh emphasized the independence of the Federal Reserve, fending off speculation about political pressure on rate decisions.
“I never told the president where I thought the rates should be…and I wouldn’t have even thought about it,” Warsh said.
Trump has repeatedly called for lower interest rates, putting pressure on current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and raising concerns about the central bank’s independence.
Warsh also struck a constructive tone on crypto, saying digital assets are “already part of the fabric of our financial services industry.”
Trading just below $77,000 earlier in the session, BTC slipped to around $75,500 during the Warsh hearing, a decline of around 0.6% over the past 24 hours.
This move reflects broader markets. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both fell about 0.5%, giving up early gains as investors digested signals about monetary policy.
Crypto-related stocks fell further. Exchange Coinbase (COIN) fell 5%, while Robinhood (HOOD), a retail brokerage with heavy exposure to crypto trading, fell 3.5% during the session. Galaxy (GLXY), a digital asset investment firm, slipped 4.5%, while stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) was down almost 6%.
Although Warsh’s remarks suggest he felt less urgency to cut rates, he would likely still favor lower rates as president, according to Matt Mena, senior crypto research strategist at asset manager 21shares.
“While [Warsh] Although he has a reputation for fiscal discipline, he has spent years arguing that the central bank’s reliance on lagged data had kept rates unnecessarily high, stifling growth and creating volatility in markets,” Mena said in a note.
He added that Warsh’s appointment could also prove positive for crypto policy, noting that he would be the first Fed chair with deep ties to the digital assets sector. Warsh has invested in dozens of crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and sees bitcoin as “the new gold for people under 40,” he added.
Looking to the second half of 2026, Mena argued that a more proactive easing policy could create a “high liquidity environment” that has historically supported risky assets like bitcoin, potentially pushing prices towards $100,000.
