New Fed Chair: What’s Next for Rates and Crypto?
Geopolitics, Shutdown Risks, and Big Tech Earnings
The last week of January opened with dovish Fed rhetoric, fresh all-time highs in metals, and a dense slate of corporate earnings.
But by the weekend the market flipped regimes: geopolitical escalation and U.S. budget risks triggered a classic risk-off — stocks, crypto, and even safe havens came under pressure.
New Fed Chair and Near-Term Policy
The rate stance remains bearish: the target federal funds range is 3.50–3.75%.
Communication stays cautious and meeting-by-meeting. Easing expectations haven’t vanished, but geopolitics and fiscal risks dominate the tape for now.
Donald Trump named Kevin Warsh as the new Fed Chair. He’ll set the tone for monetary policy in the coming years.
Base market expectation: a trajectory toward faster rate cuts and a readiness to keep liquidity ample (de-facto the printing press running hot). Medium term that’s bullish for risk assets; short term, markets remain headline-sensitive.
Gold Rush
Gold and silver hit new all-time highs early in the week:
- gold — $5,350/oz
- silver — $120/oz
Over 30 days, silver’s return was 4× the S&P 500’s gain for all of 2025.
The S&P 500, for its part, held 7,000 for the first time ever this week — buoyed by rate hopes and strong earnings season.
Yet on January 30, metals kicked off the sell-off: in one hour they shed more in absolute value than the entire crypto market cap.
Infrastructure & Corporates
Ripple is launching an on-chain treasury. Ripple Treasury is a corporate platform built on GTreasury that unifies fiat and digital-asset cash management in one system.
Earnings Season: Q4 / FY2025
Latest company results:
- Tesla: revenue $94.8B, net income $3.8B.
- IBM: revenue $67.5B, net income $10.6B.
- Intel: revenue $52.9B, net loss $0.3B.
- ASML: revenue €32.7B, net income €9.6B.
Standards & Crypto
Mainnet launch announced for Ethereum’s ERC-8004 — a standard for cross-organizational AI-agent interactions. It lays the groundwork for an on-chain market of AI services.
The UAE central bank approved the first regulated stablecoin for institutional settlement — USDU (issuer: Universal Digital Intl Limited). Fully backed 1:1 in UAE banks, focused on B2B payments and liquidity management.
Fastest-growing crypto assets of 2026:
Accumulation phase — coins with rising monthly volume:
Largest BTC holders right now:
Protocols & funds
Zcash Foundation presented its 2026 plan, focusing on privacy, infrastructure, and community.
Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin are relaunching The DAO as “Unchained” — a network security fund (~$220M from ~75,000 ETH), with a significant portion slated for staking.
What This Means for Investors
Markets are re-pricing risk and expectations. Geopolitics and fiscal questions amplify volatility. These phases matter less for the drop itself than for how markets rebuild afterward.
Right now, it’s crucial that part of your capital doesn’t depend on perfect timing. Predictable cash-flow instruments help you ride out turbulence and be ready when the market re-assembles.