Warsh Whispers "Chill," Bitcoin Moonwalks Back Past $60K While Gold Glitters Too ✨

Bitcoin ($BTC) reclaimed the $60,000 mark on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told a panel of global central bankers that "inflation risks have come down," reviving appetite for risk assets and precious metals during his first international appearance since taking the role. Speaking at the European Central Bank's annual forum in Sintra, Portugal, Warsh reaffirmed the Fed's commitment to its 2% inflation target and pledged to deliver price stability in the U.S. "We're all in the price stability business … we've all looked around and we've seen that prices are too high," Warsh said.

The Fed chief declined to provide guidance on the central bank's next interest-rate decision, saying policymakers would debate incoming data at their meeting in four weeks. He struck a less hawkish tone than his June debut, pointing to easing price pressures since taking over. U.S. consumer prices rose 4.2% in the year to May, the fastest since 2023, amid the war with Iran, which had driven the Fed to hold rates at 3.5% to 3.75% in June and signal a possible hike. Those fears eased after oil prices retreated in late June.

Bitcoin traded near $60,088, up about 2.8% in 24 hours, while Ethereum ($ETH) rose about 3.3% to near $1,619, lifting Bitcoin's market value over $1.2 trillion. The bounce followed a steep month for the asset, which had slid to its 2026 low near $58,000 last week after hot May inflation triggered $1.26 billion in liquidations. Bitcoin remains down about 16% from a month ago.

Warsh was also measured on artificial intelligence, saying the technology-driven surge in capital expenditures is currently showing up on the demand side but could eventually expand the U.S. economy's supply side. "I'm not going to make a judgment now," Warsh said when asked whether the AI boom was inflationary. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack had recently tied AI demand to the case for hikes, saying "these hyperscalers, will pay almost any price for those inputs, and they need things built yesterday."

Gold rebounded to an intra-day high of $4,115 after sliding to multi-month lows earlier in the week, with over $1.25 trillion added to precious metals in the six hours following Warsh's comments. Gold gained about 3.7%, adding roughly $1.05 trillion in market value, while silver rose 6%, adding about $200 billion. 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 that central banks should move away from explicit forward guidance.