Senate Confirms Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair Amid Crypto Disclosures

The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair on Wednesday by a 54-45 vote, installing him for a four-year term. A day earlier, senators approved his nomination to the Fed’s Board of Governors for a 14-year term in a 51-45 vote.

Financial disclosure forms released during the nomination process list holdings tied to crypto firms and tokens. The filings show stakes linked to decentralized derivatives exchange dYdX, venture firm Polychain Capital, NFT company Dapper Labs, and direct exposure to Solana and Optimism tokens.

During confirmation hearings, senators asked whether those holdings could affect policy decisions and probed Warsh’s approach to interest-rate policy. The hearings included extended questioning about rate strategy amid public disagreements between the White House and the Federal Reserve.

In testimony, Warsh described bitcoin as “an important asset that can help inform policymakers.” He previously served on the Fed’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011 and worked as a banker at Morgan Stanley.

Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends Friday; Powell has said he will remain on the Fed’s board until 2028. The White House nominated Warsh following a period of public tension with the central bank, during which President Trump criticized Powell and sought to remove him and Governor Lisa Cook.

Separately, the Justice Department opened a criminal inquiry into Powell’s statements about a renovation of Federal Reserve headquarters. Prosecutors dropped that investigation and referred the matter to the Fed’s inspector general, according to officials.

Senate roll-call votes and the published financial disclosures are part of the public record documenting Warsh’s path to the central bank’s top leadership post.