Trump Praises BlackRock CIO – Rieder Now 32% Favorite for Next Fed Chair

Polymarket is a prediction platform that has put BlackRock executive Rick Rieder at 32 percent to become the upcoming Chair of the US Federal Reserve. This is a significant increase of the previous numbers and puts him second behind Kevin Warsh who is still ahead with 46 percent. The traders immediately responded to the change, the amount around the name of Rieder rose as more people began to speculate on the politics. The indications of increasing faith are that Rieder has reached the serious candidate stage instead of being a far-off outsider.

🇺🇸 UPDATE: BlackRock's Rick Rieder odds of becoming the next Fed Chair surged to 32%, making him second after Kevin Warsh who leads at 46%, per Polymarket. pic.twitter.com/bfcz8ffwq5

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 23, 2026

Trump Drives the Narrative

In a recent public appearance, Donald Trump described Rick Rieder as very impressive and it instantly gave him credibility in the market. That was all that politicologists and betting markets needed to begin taking notice of again. The traders took the comment as a tacit approval and rated more likelihood of a formal nomination. Verbal signals tend to travel more quickly than policy announcements in an election dependent market, and Rieder has used this directly to his advantage.

Powell Exit Opens the Polymarket Door

The official end of the reign of Jerome Powell as Fed Chair is May 2026, which would leave the world with a leadership vacuum at the most powerful central bank in history. It will be up to the next Chair to influence interest rates, inflation and financial stability over the years. The nomination process is under the control of White House and Senate possesses confirmation authority. With this arrangement, political affinity is as significant as financial prowess. The fact that odds were rising against Rieder is an indication that the traders are looking forward to a more market-friendly candidate coming up.

Rick Rieder is the Chief Investment Officer of the polymarket Global Fixed Income at BlackRock where he is in charge of strategies with regard to assets exceeding 11 trillion. His area of specialization is bonds, credit market as well as macroeconomic policy. He is also instrumental in the expansion strategy of BlackRock ETF. His career makes him very much anchored in world financial markets as opposed to the central banking of an academic nature. He is viewed by investors as a pragmatic operator who is knowledgeable about liquidity in the market and the flows of assets.

Crypto and Market Reaction

The positive response to the rise of Rieder among crypto traders was that he is more supportive of financial innovation. BlackRock already has the largest Bitcoin ETF in the world, which reinforces the belief that Rieder advocates the regulation of digital assets. His leadership can continue to be less hostile towards crypto infrastructure, which many investors believe is possible. This feeling has led community members of crypto to follow Fed Chairman speculation like the rest of conventional investors. There is a tendency that policy tone is more important than regulation.