When Wall Street's "Bitcoin believers" may take the helm of the world's most influential central bank, it is no longer gossip in the financial world but a quietly unfolding paradigm revolution. As of January 2026, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder has become the frontrunner for the Federal Reserve chair with nearly a 50% prediction market success rate—he not only publicly holds Bitcoin but also boldly states that "Bitcoin will replace gold."
This is far from a simple personal preference. Rieder's rise marks a significant opening of traditional financial power to digital assets. As the head of fixed income at the world's largest asset management company, he is well aware of the crushing damage high interest rates inflict on housing, credit, and ordinary families; at the same time, he opposes the Federal Reserve's reliance on lagging inflation data for decision-making, advocating for a 3% "neutral interest rate" to unleash economic vitality. This "growth-first + market-sensitive" thinking resonates strongly with the demands of the Trump administration.
More importantly, if a cryptocurrency-friendly Federal Reserve chair takes office, it suggests that the regulatory attitude may shift from "caution" to "acceptance." Although the Federal Reserve has no authority to directly regulate BTC, its monetary policy stance, liquidity allocation mechanisms, and even the recognition of the role of digital assets in macro hedging will reshape institutional confidence in entering the market. Rieder previously pushed BlackRock to launch IBIT, and if he were to take the helm of the Federal Reserve, he might not immediately "print money to buy coins," but he would inject unprecedented legitimacy into the crypto ecosystem.
This nomination contest appears to be about a change in candidates but is, in fact, a clash between the old financial order and the new digital paradigm. If Rieder becomes a reality, 2026 may become a pivotal turning point for crypto assets moving from the margins to the mainstream.
$BTC
