Kevin Warsh, Donald Trump‘s pick to chair the US Federal Reserve, has been formally nominated to the Senate for confirmation. On the same day, crypto exchange Kraken secured a first-of-its-kind Federal Reserve master account, and Trump publicly pressured banks to stop blocking a stablecoin bill moving through Congress.
Trump Sends Pro-Bitcoin Fed Chair Pick to the Senate
The White House confirmed Wednesday that Trump had transmitted Warsh’s nomination to the Senate to serve as chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve for a four-year term, and as a Fed governor for 14 years. Warsh would replace current chair Jerome Powell, whose term as chair ends in May, though Powell may remain as a governor until 2028.
Warsh has a public record of favorable views toward Bitcoin. In a January 2021 interview, he said, “if Bitcoin never existed gold would be rallying even more right now, but I guess if you are under forty, bitcoin is your new gold.” In a 2025 Hoover Institution interview, he described the cryptocurrency as something that “could provide market discipline” or signal to global markets that financial systems “need to be fixed.”
Kraken Becomes First Crypto Firm to Access Fedwire
Kraken Financial, the exchange’s banking unit operating as Wyoming-based Payward Financial, received a limited-purpose master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, granting it direct access to Fedwire, the Fed’s core payments infrastructure. No crypto company had previously achieved this.
The account classifies Kraken Financial as a “Tier 3 entity,” a designation that stops short of full bank status. It does not include interest payments on reserves held at the central bank, and the company still cannot access the full range of services available to traditional banks.
The practical benefits are still significant. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the account allows the company to “operate not as a peripheral participant in the US banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution.” Sethi added that the access enables direct settlement on Fedwire, reduced reliance on correspondent banks, and tighter integration between fiat liquidity and crypto operations.
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The approval comes after years of effort by multiple crypto firms to obtain Fed master accounts. Caitlin Long‘s Custodia Bank filed a court petition in late 2025 to pursue its own application.
Trump Pressures Banks Over Stalled Crypto Legislation
On Tuesday, Trump posted to his Truth Social platform targeting banks he accused of blocking stablecoin legislation. “The GENIUS Act is being threatened and undermined by the Banks, and that is unacceptable — We are not going to allow it,” he wrote.
The GENIUS Act, which would regulate stablecoins, has stalled in the Senate partly due to disagreements over stablecoin yield payments. Banking groups want the Senate to ban all such payments, arguing the current bill creates a loophole allowing third-party platforms to offer stablecoin yields in a way that competes with traditional deposit products.
Trump also warned banks against holding “The Clarity Act hostage,” saying they “need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry.” The House passed the CLARITY Act, which sets out a broader crypto regulatory framework, in July. The Senate is drafting its own version under separate procedural requirements.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.
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