Bitcoin Tests Safe-Haven Bid as DOJ Targets Fed Chair Powell
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell mentioned the Justice Department served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas and threatened prison expenses, framing the transfer as political retaliation tied to charge coverage slightly than the Fed’s $2,500,000,000 constructing renovation.
Bitcoin (BTC) ticked greater on the headline, buying and selling round $90,822 (+0.1% 24h) on CoinGecko and $91,226 (+0.42% 24h) on CoinMarketCap as macro desks repriced U.S. institutional threat.
Political Pressure Claim Hits Markets
Powell put the allegation in writing on January 11, 2026, and he used an unusually direct line for a sitting Fed chair.
“The risk of prison expenses is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting rates of interest based mostly on our greatest evaluation of what is going to serve the general public, slightly than following the preferences of the President.”
Reuters reported that Powell described the indictment risk as a “pretext” to stress the FOMC towards decrease charges, after DOJ subpoenas hit on Friday, January 9. The Associated Press individually reported that Powell mentioned the DOJ threatened an indictment tied to his June testimony on the renovation venture, a element that issues as a result of it anchors the authorized idea to Congressional testimony threat as a substitute of a monetary-policy statute.
The market’s cross-asset inform confirmed up exterior crypto first. The Washington Post reported intraday fairness volatility alongside a weaker greenback and a spot-gold spike to contemporary information, whereas former Fed chairs and ex-Treasury management publicly warned the probe dangers damaging confidence in U.S. establishments.
Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius said the episode “provides to” independence issues, whereas conserving his base case that the Fed stays data-driven, and he pointed to a revised Goldman path that locations cuts in June and September 2026. That schedule issues for BTC as a result of the narrative splits cleanly between “political seize” (threat premium greater, greenback weaker) and “macro easing” (liquidity tailwind).
What Desks Are Watching
BTC’s +1% response is the cleanest micro-signal desks get on “rule-of-law threat” within the U.S. with out ready for a CPI print.
If subpoenas evolve into an precise indictment risk with a docketed case quantity, count on a second-order commerce: greater time period premium, softer USD, wider charges vol, and a bid for non-sovereign collateral (BTC, gold) that appears much less like a Nasdaq beta proxy and extra like a jurisdiction hedge, notably for funds that already run foundation books and may finance BTC publicity in opposition to stablecoin liabilities.
The publish Bitcoin Tests Safe-Haven Bid as DOJ Targets Fed Chair Powell appeared first on Cryptonews.