Final Federal Reserve Chair Candidate Rick Rieder, How Does He View Cryptocurrency?

Original Title: "The Last Seat in the List of Federal Reserve Chair Candidates, What Is Rick Rieder's Stance on Crypto?"

Original Author: CryptoLeo, Odaily Planet Daily

The full list of Federal Reserve Chair candidates was finalized yesterday. Yesterday, Trump stated that he will interview Rick Rieder, BlackRock's Global Chief Investment Officer, on Thursday to consider him as a potential candidate for the next Federal Reserve Chair. This will be the fourth and final interview of candidates to succeed the current Federal Reserve Chair, Powell. In addition to Rieder, the final shortlist also includes former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. Trump stated that he will make the final decision in January.

Among the four candidates, everyone should be relatively familiar with Rieder except for Rieder. Odaily has previously written articles about other candidates. Today, we will introduce this potential Federal Reserve Chair candidate.

The "Old BlackRock Man" Deeply Involved in Fixed Income

Born in October 1961, according to LinkedIn data, Rieder attended Emory University and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Finance from Emory University in 1983, and an MBA from Wharton School in 1987.

After graduating, Rieder worked at Lehman Brothers for 20 years from 1987 to 2008, holding executive positions such as Head of Global Credit Business at Lehman Brothers and Head of the Global Principal Strategies Team.

After Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in 2008, Rieder started his own venture, founding R3 Capital (mainly focused on multi-strategy credit investing) and serving as its CEO. The firm was acquired by BlackRock in 2009. In other words, Rick Rieder brought his entrepreneurial firm to BlackRock, where he became a Managing Director and led the Fixed Income Alternatives Portfolio Team.

Today, Rieder has been with BlackRock for 17 years, holding positions such as BlackRock's Global Chief Investment Officer for Fixed Income, Head of Basic Fixed Income Business, and Head of Global Allocation Investment Team. Rieder is responsible for managing trillions of dollars in assets and is a member of BlackRock's Global Executive Committee (GEC) and its GEC Investment Subcommittee. He also serves as Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Committee at the company level. He is currently a member of the Alphabet/Google Investment Advisory Committee and the UBS Research Advisory Board.

It is worth noting that Rieder has also served as the Vice Chairman of the U.S. Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee and as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Financial Markets Advisory Committee.

Differences Between Rieder and Other Candidates

Compared to the other three candidates, Rieder does not have as much experience in U.S. government-related roles. However, when it comes to the crypto industry, the point worth noting is: Rieder is a staunch proponent of crypto. Over the past few years, Rieder has repeatedly expressed positive views on cryptocurrencies (especially Bitcoin) in public, transitioning from an early cautious stance to recognizing Bitcoin as a durable asset and a valuable investment. Here are some of his public statements on crypto:

November 2020: Rieder made comments on CNBC stating that digital payment systems are a reality, and cryptocurrencies will also exist in the long term. The mechanism of Bitcoin is durable, more functional, and more traceable, and to a large extent, it can replace gold, especially as the millennial generation has a high acceptance of digital payments.

2021: In an interview with CNBC, Rieder stated that Bitcoin is a durable asset and will become a long-term part of the investment space. BlackRock has started to "dabble" in it. Although Bitcoin faces challenges such as high volatility and regulation, these will be overcome over time.

In addition, Rieder also mentioned that he personally holds Bitcoin, but did not disclose his holdings. He believes that Bitcoin will see a significant increase in value in the future and that holding Bitcoin as a speculative tool is cost-effective.

2022: In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Rieder likened the crypto market crash to the early days of the internet. Rieder still believes that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are durable assets, but there was just too much speculative investment around it. The crash was just a realignment for the industry, eliminating some excessive leverage, and he remains optimistic in the long run, saying, "Just give it 2 to 3 years, and the crypto market will be higher than today."

September 2025: In an interview with CNBC, Rieder stated that an ideal investment portfolio should hold "hard assets" such as gold and Bitcoin to hedge against fiat devaluation. Rieder mentioned that BlackRock has a gold allocation of 3-5%, but the investment in cryptocurrency is "much lower than this." He believes that Bitcoin will rise, but a 5% investment allocation seems too high.

From the changes in his public statements, it can be seen that from Rieder's investment professional perspective, he is optimistic about Bitcoin, affirming Bitcoin's long-term value, and holding Bitcoin as an institution is also a very good investment method.

The Impact of Rieder's Election on Crypto

Between 2020 and 2025, Rieder has repeatedly evaluated Bitcoin from the perspectives of institutional portfolio, macro hedging (such as against inflation, fiat devaluation), and liquidity. Recently, after being listed as a Federal Reserve Chair candidate, his statements are worth revisiting. Compared to several other candidates, Rieder is an absolute proponent of crypto. If elected as the Federal Reserve Chair, it will indirectly bring many benefits to the crypto industry:

1. Macro Policy, Advocating for a Significant Rate Cut

In recent months, Rieder has consistently expressed the desire for interest rates to fall to 3%, which means a reduction of at least 50 basis points from the current level. Rieder stated, "For many months now, my attitude has been very clear. The Fed must cut rates, and I don't think it needs to cut by too much, ultimately landing at 3%—which is closer to the neutral rate."

In addition, Rieder also stated that regardless of who takes on the Federal Reserve Chair position, the entire Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will make decisions based on economic data assessment.

2. Professional Perspective, More Institutional Participation

As BlackRock's Global Chief Investment Officer for Fixed Income, Rieder started leading and promoting BlackRock's allocation to Bitcoin futures as early as 2021, and the subsequent launch of IBIT was also very successful. Rieder's investment track record is publicly available. If elected as the Federal Reserve Chair, his pro-crypto stance will attract more institutional investors.

3. Personal Perspective, Bullish on Crypto and Driving Development

Although Rieder has not publicly disclosed his Bitcoin holdings, the development from early Bitcoin futures at BlackRock to crypto ETFs shows that Rieder is not just talking. He is very bullish on the long-term value of Bitcoin, emphasizing Bitcoin's "upside convexity," which can amplify crypto returns in a loose environment.

Moreover, as a professional fixed income analyst, Rieder seeks returns in high-yield/volatile environments, which are areas where the crypto market can excel. There is a high probability that he will promote asset tokenization in the crypto industry, stablecoins, and DeFi development.

As of the time of writing, Polymarket data shows that the probability of Kevin Warsh being elected Chair of the Federal Reserve is currently at 40% (up 6%), Kevin Hassett at 38% (up 7%), Christopher Waller at 9% (down 9%), and Rick Rieder has the lowest probability of being elected Chair of the Federal Reserve, currently at 7% (up 6%). Although his chances are relatively lower compared to Warsh and Hassett, at least a 6-point increase has been observed, positioning Waller to be swiftly removed from the race.

Furthermore, if the individual chosen by Trump is currently not a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, that person must first join the Board of Governors. For Rieder, if he were to become Chair, he would also need Trump's nomination + Senate confirmation to become a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors — a process that could take several months before becoming Chair of the Federal Reserve.

Specifically, the outcome will depend on the situation after their meeting with Trump and Bassett on Thursday. Odaily will promptly follow up on related developments, and everyone can also closely monitor the data changes in the corresponding contracts on Polymarket.

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