Trump hasn’t confirmed who he will have replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell with next year, but two recent hints, taken together, point to his crypto-friendly adviser. Prediction market odds on Kevin Hasset becoming the next chair of the US Federal Reserve spiked after US President Donald Trump appeared to hint at who he has in mind during a White House event. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump introduced guests, welcoming Hassett as a “potential Fed chair.” “It’s a great group, and I guess a potential Fed chair is here too,” he said. “I don’t know, are we allowed to say that, potential? He’s a respected person, that I can tell you. Thank you, Kevin.” Read more
Kevin O’Leary said he is not positioning his investments around expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut rates in December. American entrepreneur and investor Kevin O’Leary has pushed back against speculation that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December — a move that typically signals a favorable outlook for crypto. However, O’Leary doesn’t anticipate a Fed rate hold negatively impacting Bitcoin’s (BTC) price. “I don’t actually think the Fed's gonna cut in December,” O’Leary, also known as “Mr Wonderful,” told Cointelegraph during an interview on Tuesday, emphasizing that it’s not “gonna make a difference to Bitcoin.” Read more
Kalshi has doubled its valuation after its latest Series E funding round, which come as the prediction market posted record trading volumes last month. Prediction market Kalshi has closed a $1 billion funding round at a valuation of $11 billion, after seeing its best-ever monthly volume in November. Confirming an earlier report by TechCrunch, Kalshi said on Tuesday that its latest Series E round was led by the crypto-focused venture firm Paradigm, with participation from other crypto-engaged VCs Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz and Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest. “Kalshi is replacing debate, subjectivity, and talk with markets, accuracy, and truth,” said Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour. “We have created a new way of consuming and engaging with information.” Read more