The Chair of the Federal Reserve is under criminal investigation.
This is the first time in U.S. history that a sitting president has used criminal means to target a central bank governor.
On January 9th, the Department of Justice issued a subpoena, and on January 11th, the case was officially filed, directly pressuring U.S. stock index futures.
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On the surface, it's about construction corruption; in reality, it's a power struggle.
Trump accused Powell of poor management in the renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters, where the budget soared from $2.5 billion to $4.1 billion. The DOJ is investigating whether Powell lied during his congressional testimony in June last year.
But budget overruns happen in almost every major project.
What Trump really wants is for Powell to cut interest rates.
Powell responded sharply—on the evening of the 11th, he released a video statement, the strongest stance he has taken during his tenure: "The criminal charges are a pretext; the real reason is the president's desire to control interest rates."
It's extremely rare for a central bank governor to publicly confront the president.
More importantly, Powell's term ends in May, and Trump has already prepared his successor.
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For the crypto market, this could be a signal.
Yesterday, U.S. stock index futures dropped, but $BTC fluctuated around 90,000 without following the decline.
The market is waiting for two possible outcomes:
Trump wins → rate cuts and monetary easing → bullish for BTC
Powell wins → doubts about U.S. dollar credibility → also bullish for BTC
In this game, no matter who wins, $BTC seems unlikely to lose.