Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh to Lead the Fed. Economist Known for Bitcoin Support

American President Donald Trump officially nominated economist Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. The former member of the American central bank’s leadership, who has spoken positively about bitcoin on multiple occasions in the past, now awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

The White House announced on Wednesday that the president sent Warsh’s nomination to the Senate. If lawmakers approve it, Warsh would head the Fed for a four-year term and simultaneously remain a member of its board of governors for up to 14 years.

Trump had already hinted at his intention earlier on social media, where at the end of January he announced that Warsh should replace the current Fed chair Jerome Powell. Powell’s term as chair ends on May 15, although as a governor he could remain in office until 2028.

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Warsh: Bitcoin Could Be “New Gold”

Kevin Warsh is no stranger to the financial world. From 2006 to 2011, he served as a Fed governor under the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He later became a visiting economic scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

From the cryptocurrency sector’s perspective, it is particularly noteworthy that Warsh has repeatedly expressed relatively favorable views on bitcoin in the past. As early as 2021, in an interview with CNBC, he stated that if bitcoin had never been created, gold would probably have strengthened even more significantly.

“If you are under forty, bitcoin is new gold for you,” he said at the time.

In a later interview with the Hoover Institution in 2025, he stated that cryptocurrency can serve as a certain signal for the financial system. According to him, it can “provide market discipline or signal to the world that something needs to change”.

Warsh also recalled a personal experience from 2011 when investor Marc Andreessen showed him the bitcoin white paper. “I wish I had understood as well then how transformative this technology could be,” he said.

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Nomination May Face Democratic Resistance

However, approval of Warsh’s nomination may not be automatic. Some Democrats have already signaled they will challenge it. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated in January that Republicans should not move the nomination forward unless Warsh clearly confirms the independence of the central bank.

According to Schumer, the candidate must unequivocally distance himself from any potential political pressure from the president.

The debate over Fed independence has been ongoing for some time. Trump has repeatedly criticized the central bank’s current leadership in the past and has several times suggested he would like to remove Powell from office. Nevertheless, Powell is expected to complete his term.

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Crypto Regulation Remains Unresolved in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the question of filling other key regulatory positions in the financial system remains open. The president has not yet sent new nominations to the Senate for leadership of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The agency, which typically operates with five commissioners, currently has only one confirmed leader – Chair Michael Selig, who was confirmed in office in December.

The CFTC could gain significantly broader authority over digital assets in the future. The U.S. Senate is continuing to deliberate a law on the structure of the cryptocurrency market, which could give the agency wider oversight of this sector.

If Warsh were to actually become head of the Fed, it could mean an interesting shift in the central bank’s approach to digital assets, according to some analysts. His previous statements suggest he does not view bitcoin as a threat to the financial system, but rather as a technology that can provide important feedback to financial institutions.

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Šimon Hauser
Šimon Hauser is a Czech financial journalist, specializing in cryptocurrencies, fintech and global capital markets, among other things. With deep insight into the digital economy and investment strategies, he helps readers understand the transformation of the financial sector. His analyses regularly connect technological innovations with the real-world impact on modern investing.