Federal Reserve Chair Candidate Waller, Crypto-Friendly, Seen as 15% Chance to Be Next Fed Chair

BlockBeats News, December 17th, according to WSJ report, Trump is scheduled to interview current Federal Reserve Board Governor Waller on Wednesday to evaluate the potential candidate for the next Federal Reserve Chair to succeed Powell. On the prediction market Polymarket, Waller's probability of being nominated by Trump as Federal Reserve Chair has risen to 15%. Furthermore, the probability of Warsh being nominated by Trump has decreased to 27%, while Hassett's nomination probability has risen to 53%.

Waller was nominated by Trump to join the Federal Reserve Board in 2020 and is a supporter of cryptocurrency, particularly focusing on the stablecoin and decentralized finance (DeFi) sectors. Waller stated at the Fed's Payment Innovation Conference in October, "I want to convey a message: the Fed has entered a new era in the payment space— the DeFi industry is no longer underestimated or dismissed." He also mentioned that stablecoins are "just a new form of private money" and will coexist with other payment tools.

Earlier reports indicated that Waller has become a key advocate for interest rate cuts within the Federal Reserve this year. During the Fed's meeting in July to keep rates unchanged, Waller cast a dissenting vote in favor of cutting rates. Waller is the most favored candidate for Federal Reserve Chair by economists, highly regarded on Wall Street for his logical and consistent argument in favor of rate cuts this year, considered capable of bridging the increasing internal divisions within the Federal Reserve. Several of his arguments for rate cuts have been adopted by the current Chair Powell. Waller will speak on the economic outlook on Wednesday night Beijing time.