Original｜Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author｜CryptoLeo (@LeoAndCrypto)
The complete list of candidates for the Federal Reserve Chair was finalized yesterday. Trump announced that he would interview Rick Rieder, the Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income at BlackRock, on Thursday, evaluating him as a potential candidate for the next Federal Reserve Chair. This will be the fourth and final interview for candidates to replace Federal Reserve Chair Powell. In addition to Rieder, the final shortlist also includes former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett, and Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. Trump stated that he would make a final decision in January.
Among the four candidates, everyone is relatively familiar with the others except for Rieder. Odaily has previously written articles about the other candidates, and today we will introduce this potential Federal Reserve Chair candidate.
Related references:
Deeply Engaged in Fixed Income: "Old BlackRock Man"
Rieder was born in October 1961. According to LinkedIn, Rieder attended Emory University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Finance from Emory University in 1983 and an MBA from Wharton in 1987.
After graduation, Rieder worked at Lehman Brothers for 20 years from 1987 to 2008, holding senior positions such as Head of Global Credit Business and Head of Global Principal Strategies Team.
After Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in 2008, Rieder started his own venture, founding R3 Capital (which primarily focuses on multi-strategy credit investments) and serving as its CEO. The firm was acquired by BlackRock in 2009. In other words, Rick Rieder joined BlackRock with his startup, becoming a Managing Director and leading the Fixed Income Alternatives Portfolio Team.
To date, Rieder has been with BlackRock for 17 years, and his current positions include Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, Head of Core 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, while also serving as the Chair of the BlackRock Investment Committee at the corporate level. He is also a member of the Alphabet/Google Investment Advisory Committee and the UBS Research Advisory Committee.
Notably, Rieder has also served as Vice Chair of the U.S. Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee and as a member of the Federal Reserve's Financial Markets Advisory Committee.
What Sets Rieder Apart from Other Candidates
Compared to the other three candidates, Rieder does not have as much experience related to the U.S. government. However, what is noteworthy for the crypto industry is that Rieder is an absolute pro-crypto advocate. In recent years, Rieder has repeatedly expressed positive views on cryptocurrencies (especially Bitcoin) in public, gradually shifting from an early cautious stance to recognizing Bitcoin as a durable asset and a hard asset with investment value. Here are some of his public statements related to crypto:
November 2020: Rieder commented on CNBC that digital payment systems are real, and cryptocurrencies will exist in the long term. The mechanism of Bitcoin has durability, more functionality, and better traceability, and it can largely replace gold, especially since millennials are highly accepting of digital payments.
2021: In an interview with CNBC, Rieder stated that Bitcoin is a durable asset and will become a part of the investment landscape in the long term. BlackRock has begun to "dabble" in it on a small scale. Although Bitcoin faces challenges such as high volatility and regulation, these will be overcome over time.
Additionally, Rieder also stated that he personally holds Bitcoin, but did not disclose his holdings. He believes that Bitcoin will rise significantly in the future, and holding Bitcoin as a speculative tool is very cost-effective.
2022: In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Rieder stated that the collapse of the crypto market is similar to the early internet. Rieder still insists that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are durable assets, but there has been too much over-investment surrounding them. The collapse is merely a recalibration for the industry, eliminating some excessive leverage, and once the market is healthy, he remains optimistic in the long term, saying, "Just give it 2 or 3 years, and the crypto market will be above today’s levels."
September 2025: In an interview with CNBC, Rieder stated that an ideal investment portfolio should hold "hard assets" like gold and Bitcoin to combat fiat currency depreciation. Rieder mentioned that BlackRock invests 3-5% in gold, but the investment in cryptocurrencies is "far below this." He believes Bitcoin will rise, but a 5% investment allocation seems too high.
From the changes in his public statements, it is evident that from Rieder's investment professional perspective, he is optimistic about Bitcoin and affirms its long-term value, considering institutional holdings of Bitcoin as a good investment strategy.
If Rieder is Elected, What Impact Will It Have on Crypto
Between 2020 and 2025, Rieder has repeatedly evaluated Bitcoin from the perspectives of institutional portfolios, macro hedging (such as against inflation and fiat currency depreciation), and liquidity. Recently, after being listed as a candidate for Federal Reserve Chair, his statements are worth revisiting. Compared to the other candidates, Rieder is the absolute pro-crypto figure among them. If he is elected as Federal Reserve Chair, it will indirectly bring many benefits to the crypto industry:
1. Macroeconomic Policy, Advocating for Significant Rate Cuts
In recent months, Rieder has consistently maintained the view that interest rates should be lowered to 3%, which means a decrease of at least 50 basis points from the current level. Rieder stated, "My stance has been very clear for many months. The Federal Reserve must lower interest rates, and I believe it doesn't need to be lowered too much, ultimately landing at 3%—this level is closer to the neutral rate."
Additionally, Rieder also mentioned that regardless of who sits in the Federal Reserve Chair position, the entire Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will make judgments and assessments based on economic data, and then make appropriate decisions.
2. Professional Perspective, More Institutions Entering the Market
As BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, Rieder began leading and promoting BlackRock's allocation to Bitcoin futures as early as 2021, and the subsequent launch of IBIT was very successful. Rieder's investment track record is verifiable, and if he is elected as Federal Reserve Chair, his pro-crypto stance will attract more institutional investors to enter the market.
3. Personal Perspective, Optimistic About Crypto and Promoting Development
Although Rieder has not publicly disclosed his Bitcoin holdings, the development of BlackRock from early Bitcoin futures to crypto ETFs shows that Rieder is not just talking the talk. He is very optimistic about the long-term value of Bitcoin, emphasizing Bitcoin's "upside convexity," which can amplify crypto returns in a loose environment.
Furthermore, as a professional fixed income analyst, Rieder seeks yield in high interest rate/volatile environments, which are areas where the crypto market can excel. He is likely to promote the development of asset tokenization, stablecoins, and the DeFi sector in the crypto industry.
As of the time of writing, Polymarket data shows that the probability of Kevin Warsh being elected as Federal Reserve Chair is currently reported at 40% (up 6%), the probability of Kevin Hassett being elected is reported at 38% (up 7%), the probability of Christopher Waller being elected is reported at 9% (down 9%), and the probability of Rick Rieder being elected is the lowest at 7% (up 6%). Although this is lower compared to Warsh and Hassett, it has at least increased by 6 points, and he is about to surpass Waller.
Additionally, if the candidate chosen by Trump is not currently a member of the Federal Reserve Board, that person must first enter the Federal Reserve Board. For Rieder, if he is to become Chair, he will also need to be nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate to become a member of the Federal Reserve Board—this process could take several months.
How it unfolds will depend on the situation after his meeting with Trump and Bessent on Thursday. Odaily will follow up on the relevant developments in real-time, and everyone can also closely monitor the data changes of the corresponding contracts on Polymarket.
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