Federal Reserve Chair Candidate Waller Crypto-Friendly, Odds of Becoming Next Fed Chair Currently at 15%

On December 17, The Wall Street Journal reported that former President Donald Trump will interview Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller this Wednesday to assess Waller as a potential candidate to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair. Prediction market Polymarket shows Waller’s probability of being nominated by Trump for the Fed Chair role has risen to 15%, while Lael Brainard’s nomination odds have dropped to 27% and Kevin Hassett’s have climbed to 53%. Waller was tapped by Trump in 2020 to join the Fed’s board and is a proponent of cryptocurrency, focusing on stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi). At the Fed’s Payment Innovation Conference in October, he stated: “I want to send a message: the Fed has entered a new era in payments— the DeFi industry is no longer in doubt or underestimated.” He also noted stablecoins are “just a new form of private money” that will coexist with other payment tools. Prior reports note Waller has emerged as a key voice within the Fed pushing for rate cuts this year. At the Fed’s July meeting (where policymakers held rates steady), Waller cast a dissenting vote in favor of a cut. He is the most favored Fed Chair candidate among economists, highly regarded on Wall Street for his clear, consistent rate-cut arguments this year, and seen as capable of bridging growing internal divides at the Fed. Several of his rate-cut points have been adopted by current Chair Powell. Waller is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook Wednesday night Beijing time.