Trump Signals Fed Personnel Change, Bitcoin Rally Disrupted, Market Reassesses 2026 Rate Cut Expectation

BlockBeats News, January 17th, as the price of Bitcoin approached $100,000 in early 2026, the latest statement from U.S. President Trump regarding the Fed Chair nominee was seen by the market as a potential "price inflection point."

According to Reuters, Trump recently publicly stated at the White House that, although it was previously widely expected that White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett would take over from current Chair Powell, he is "more inclined to have Hassett stay in his current position," calling a potential reassignment a "serious concern." This statement quickly dampened market expectations for Hassett to become the Fed Chair.

As a result, the predicted probability of Hassett's election on the prediction market Polymarket dropped significantly, while the winning probability of his main competitor, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, rose to nearly 60%.

Market analysis pointed out that Hassett is seen as a more dovish candidate. If he were to become Fed Chair, it might be more conducive to a rate cut expectation in 2026, thereby supporting the performance of Bitcoin and risk assets. In contrast, Warsh's stance is relatively more hawkish, implying that a high-interest-rate environment may persist longer, putting short-term pressure on crypto assets.

Although Warsh has previously invested in crypto companies and served as an advisor to the institutional crypto bank Anchorage, analysts believe that his monetary policy orientation is not as accommodative as Hassett's. Aurelie Barthere, Chief Research Analyst at Nansen, pointed out that Hassett "was originally more supportive of the crypto market."