Bitcoin Critic Elizabeth Warren Urges Fed Chair to Make Massive Rate Cut

Senator Elizabeth Warren is pushing the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates dramatically this week, with the outspoken crypto critic arguing that higher borrowing costs have threatened the U.S. economy for too long.“Now is the time to swiftly move forward with rate cuts,” the Senator from Massachusetts wrote in a In the letter, lawmakers called for a 75-basis-point rate cut. Meanwhile, traders expect the U.S. central bank to lower its benchmark rate from a 23-year high by 0.25% or 0.5% on Wednesday. Bitcoin’s price rose Friday as traders digested While rate cuts are At the same time, the lawmakers described an uptick in the unemployment rate to 4.2% as a worrying sign for the U.S. economy, citing a historic low of 3.5% last July.“While the economy remains strong overall, this softening of the labor market offers further justification for lowering rates,” the lawmakers wrote. “Employment numbers adjust slowly, so the Fed should front load rate cuts to avoid sliding towards a potential crisis.”Taking a measured approach to rate cuts would needlessly put the U.S. economy at risk, the senators argued. They backed up their call by reprising a A cautious approach, however, was seen as the Fed’s base case less than a week ago.Following an While the senators’ proposed cut could exasperate slowdown jitters, some experts have called for a 75-basis-point cut recently. As markets weathered a global sell-off last month, for example, Wharton Business School Professor Jeremy Seigal Even though Seigal, who is also a senior economist at WisdomTree, later Warren, a noted crypto skeptic, has ruffled industry feathers while calling for stricter regulations. She described “Due to Warren’s crypto comments, she has said the crypto industry has it out for her. Currently, John Deaton, a crypto lawyer, is Still, in advocating for a 75-basis-point cut, it appears Warren and the crypto industry have shared ground—at least when it comes to the Fed’s chances of cutting rates vigorously.Edited by Andrew Hayward