Federal Reserve Chair Contender Rick Rieder has suggested that Bitcoin will replace gold and recommended that investors hold Bitcoin in their portfolios

January 27th, CoinDesk reported that Rick Rieder—BlackRock’s Global Fixed Income Chief Investment Officer and a leading candidate for Federal Reserve chair—has said Bitcoin will replace gold and advised investors to include Bitcoin in their portfolios. Prediction markets now rank his election chances first, and he has repeatedly voiced support for cryptocurrencies. Back in 2020, when digital assets were still nascent, he told CNBC Bitcoin would supplant gold as a store of value “because it’s far more convenient than hauling a gold bar.” More recently, in the same outlet, he argued Bitcoin belongs in a smart investment portfolio, describing both Bitcoin and gold as “assets that add a layer of stability to a portfolio.” At the time of that interview, Bitcoin was still above $112,000, and he predicted it “will keep climbing.” Today, Bitcoin trades around $88,000, having recently dropped amid potential tariff measures and other geopolitical unrest. Rieder has openly criticized the Federal Reserve’s slow pace of interest rate cuts—similar to former President Trump, who praised Rieder as “very outstanding” in a recent Davos interview. On Polymarket, the probability of Rieder (BlackRock’s global CIO) becoming the next Fed chair stands at 46%.