Gold, Silver, and Crypto Fall From Highs as USD Strengthens
February 2, 2026—President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to lead the U.S. central bank calmed recent trepidations in the markets about the value of the U.S. dollar. The term Fed Chair Jerome Powell expires in May 2026. Powell faces massive political pressure by Trump, including an ongoing criminal probe by the Justice Department related to construction expenses.
Economist and Former Fed Governor
Warsh is an economist and a former Federal Reserve Governor, familiar with both Wall Street and the governing side. Warsh is also the son-in-law to Trump’s close friend, Ronald Lauder, the billionaire heir to the Estée Lauder Companies, who—incidentally—also sparked Trump’s interest in owning Greenland.
Warsh is known for taking a conservative stance on interest rate policy. In past speeches, Warsh has argued for less reliance on central bank liquidity, private market discipline, and sound fiscal and regulatory policy. Financiers offered widespread support for Warsh as a nominee.
Called for Fed ‘Regime Change’
Notably, Warsh is highly critical of the Federal Reserve, calling for “regime change.” He has argued that its models are outdated for the current environment that is integrated with artificial intelligence (AI). Furthermore, in an interview with CNBC last Summer, he also criticized the Federal Reserve for its policies, presumably inflationary policies during the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The broad conduct of monetary policy has been broken for quite a long time. The central bank that sits there today is radically different than the central bank I joined in 2006. I don’t think we need policy continuity that brought about the greatest mistake in macroeconomic policy in 45 years. That divided the country. That caused a surge in inflation. I don’t think we need continuity when the central bank doesn’t have credibility.”
Warsh also criticized the Fed for making a sudden policy shift, from a loose liquidity stance in September 2024 to a hawkish stance in July 2025. In the same CNBC interview, Warsh suggested he would encourage diversity of viewpoints at the Fed and bring in a new concept of inflation.
“Inflation happens when the government prints too much, spends too much, and lives too well,” Warsh said.
Warsh has also criticized the Fed for encroaching into policy issues, such as climate change and diversity, equity, and inclusion. “I think they should stay in their lane,” he said.
IMF, World Bank
On institutions representing the global financial infrastructure, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Warsh said they have not lived up to their promises.
“Key economic institutions that served us well for decades have fallen short of their promises. Absent fundamental reform, we should question if their high summer is past,” Warsh said in an April 2025 speech to the Group of 30, a finance group associated with the Hoover Institution.
Gold, Silver, and Crypto Down
Meanwhile, for every upside there is a downside. In the last week, the fallout occurred for gold, silver, and cryptocurrencies, some of which climbed in the past year. They all declined over the past week as the U.S. dollar rebounded, from $96 to $97.5. But variations in prices continue, suggesting instability. Citing data from Vanda Research, the Financial Times attributed the spike in silver prices to speculative trading by individual investors in Asia. Still, other investors, such as hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, continue to warn that the global economy is on the brink of “capital wars.” Dalio continued on Tuesday to suggest that metals are a hedge against geopolitical risks.
The Federal Reserve of St. Louis has published a list of speeches by Warsh.
