The Search for Jerome Powell’s Successor
The Trump administration is currently evaluating at least 11 candidates to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve when his term concludes in May. Notably, at least three of these candidates have expressed favorable views toward cryptocurrency.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed Fox News on Wednesday that there are 11 “very strong candidates” for the Fed chair position, which he plans to vet and narrow down starting next month.
According to a report by CNBC on August 13, based on information from two administration officials, the candidate 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 Supervision Chair Michelle Bowman
- Former Fed Governor Larry Lindsey
“There are 11 strong Fed chair candidates. After Labor Day, we’ll start interviews and present a shortlist to President Trump. @POTUS has a sophisticated view of monetary policy, great respect for the Fed, and wants a leader who can restore its mission and credibility,” Bessent tweeted on August 27, 2025.
The list also features Bush administration economic adviser Marc Sumerlin, Jefferies’ chief market strategist David Zervos, and BlackRock’s chief investment officer for global fixed income, Rick Rieder.
The Federal Reserve is responsible for setting US interest rates, which influence market investment strategies. Lower interest rates typically enhance liquidity, thereby encouraging investments in volatile and risky assets like crypto, while rate hikes generally lead investors to divest from riskier bets.
Rieder has previously made positive remarks about cryptocurrency. In an early 2024 interview with The Wall Street Journal, he stated that Bitcoin could potentially be “a big part of the asset allocation framework,” adding that “over time, people become more and more comfortable with it.”
In a November 2020 discussion with CNBC, Rieder expressed his belief that crypto and Bitcoin were “here to stay” and noted that “the receptivity—particularly millennials’ receptivity—of technology and cryptocurrency is real.”
BlackRock manages the largest Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds available on the market.
Fed officials Waller and Bowman, reportedly also among the candidates, have recently indicated a supportive stance toward crypto. Bowman, the Fed’s leading regulatory official, mentioned on August 20 that the central bank’s staff should be allowed to invest a small amount in crypto to gain a better understanding of the technology, asserting that it would assist in achieving a “working understanding of the underlying functionality.”
A day later, Fed Governor Waller reassured that the banking sector has “nothing to be afraid of” regarding crypto payments functioning outside the conventional banking system, characterizing it as “simply new technology to transfer objects and record transactions.”
In contrast, Powell has only occasionally discussed crypto and has typically promoted a cautious perspective. In June, he acknowledged that crypto has gained greater mainstream acceptance and anticipated an increase in banking sector engagement with the space. In December, he remarked that Bitcoin was more of a competitor to gold than to the US dollar.
On the other hand, Jefferies, the investment bank led by Zervos, is actively involved with crypto-linked entities. The bank has supported the recent public offerings of trading platform eToro, stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, crypto exchange Bullish, and crypto-based lender Figure Technology Solutions.
Jefferies also early on anticipated the Bitcoin (BTC) purchasing plans of Michael Saylor’s Strategy and reportedly has had a senior banker focused solely on crypto for at least five years.
Powell’s term as chair will end in May, but his 14-year board tenure at the Fed is set to last until early 2028. His highly anticipated speech on Friday sparked optimism for an interest rate cut, as financial markets are now expecting the Fed to reduce rates during its mid-September meeting.
