Warsh Whispers "Easy Does It" and Bitcoin Stages a $60K Plot Twist 🪙

Bitcoin reclaimed the $60,000 level on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told the European Central Bank's forum in Sintra, Portugal that "inflation risks have come down," reviving appetite for risk assets and precious metals. The remarks marked Warsh's first international appearance as Fed chair and struck a less hawkish tone than his June debut, according to traders. BTC traded near $60,088, up about 2.8% over 24 hours, while Ethereum rose roughly 3.3% to near $1,619, lifting Bitcoin's market capitalization above $1.2 trillion.

Warsh used the panel to recommit the Fed to its 2% inflation target. "If there were people in households or the business sector, in the financial markets, who thought that this central bank was going to be comfortable with an inflation objective above 2%, well, I guess they'd be disappointed," he said. "We're going to deliver price stability in the U.S." He declined to offer guidance on the Fed's next rate decision, telling the audience that policymakers will debate incoming data at their meeting in four weeks. The Fed held its policy rate at 3.5% to 3.75% in June after U.S. consumer prices rose 4.2% year-over-year in May, the fastest pace since 2023.

On artificial intelligence, Warsh was upbeat but noncommittal on its inflation implications. He said the AI capex boom is showing up on the demand side now but is expected to expand the economy's supply side, which could carry "huge implications for monetary policy," though he added it was too early to make that judgment. His comments contrast with Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack, who recently described hyperscaler demand as "insatiable." The panel also included European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, who broadly agreed central banks should move away from explicit forward guidance.

Bitcoin's bounce followed a steep month, recovering from a 2026 low near $58,000 reached last week after hot May inflation triggered $1.26 billion in liquidations; BTC remains down about 16% from a month ago. Gold also rallied to an intra-day high of $4,115 after sliding to multi-month lows earlier in the week, while silver and other precious metals gained as expectations of aggressive tightening eased.