This week, the world’s top Central Bankers join policymakers and economists on an annual pilgrimage to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to discuss the state of the global economy and the path forward for monetary policy.
This year’s event comes at a unique and challenging moment for Central Bankers for two big reasons.
First, they’re eager to preserve and defend their independence and maintain their legitimacy, particularly Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who has endured a barrage of criticisms and insults from President Donald Trump and his loyalists, who are eager to see the Fed Chair sacked in favour of a more dovish Fed Chairman if not an outright sycophant.
Second, the economic backdrop remains challenged, and the future path unclear. Inflation has moderated but remains above target, job growth is slowing, and markets are betting on September rate cuts. Evercore ISI
warned that if Powell strikes a cautious tone, global equities could face a 7–15% drawdown by October, underscoring the stakes of his message for both traditional and crypto markets.
One part of the Fed’s ‘dual mandate’ is to maintain full employment, and recent jobs data would be worrying enough to significantly increase the odds of multiple rate cuts this year, but the Fed has remained cautious, citing tariffs and inflation risks, putting the market rally (including in crypto) at risk.
Things are on pause until we get greater clarity, either on underlying economic data or the Fed’s willingness to cut rates more quickly. That has been true for Bitcoin and cryptoassets, which have reversed recent gains, falling around 8% from recent highs. It’s worth putting the pullback in some context. Bitcoin is still up
19% YTD while Ethereum is up
27%.
Can we expect any big announcements from Mr. Powell or his colleagues to give the market some renewed direction? Or will ‘business as usual’ messaging provoke Trump’s ire yet again, leading to a new round of insults and threats?
In the past, there have been some “August Surprises” at Jackson Hole, which I’ve written about. For example, Mark Carney in 2019 gave a speech arguing the U.S. dollar-based system should give way for a multi-asset global currency, built on a blockchain and modeled on Facebook’s Libra Project, an ambitious but ultimately doomed initiative by the social media giant to build, in effect, a competitor to the U.S. dollar. I
wrote in the Financial Post at the time it was an interesting idea but with many unanswered questions. Done right, it would reduce the importance of a single fiat currency system, leverage blockchains, and in the long run, likely include Bitcoin as a foundational asset. Alas, this one never made it past the speech stage.
The good news is crypto is back on the menu in Jackson Hole, but this time it’s got its own Main Event. The Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, running now ahead of the Central Banker meetup, has drawn several high profile figures, including Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, Senators Cynthia Lummis (R‑WY) and Tim Scott (R‑SC), and a long list of crypto founders, executives and investors.
At the Blockchain Symposium, Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman
urged regulators to drop the “overly cautious mindset” on crypto, blockchain, and AI; highlighted stablecoins under the new GENIUS Act as core to future payments; and unveiled a four-pillar framework (certainty, tailored oversight, consumer protection, competitiveness), including removing “reputational risk” from bank exams.
She said, "We stand at a crossroads: we can either seize the opportunity to shape the future or risk being left behind. By embracing innovation with a principled approach, we can define the course of history and fulfill our responsibility to promote the safety and soundness of the banking system and financial stability."
At the same event, SEC Chair Paul Atkins
doubled on Project Crypto, signaling the SEC’s pivot away from enforcement-first toward clarity-first regulation; stressed that most tokens aren’t inherently securities — classification depends on context.
"There are very few, in my mind, tokens that are securities, but it depends on what's the package around it and how that's being sold."
Other news from the event: Wyoming
launched the Frontier Stablecoin (FRNT), while a group of crypto giants
introduced the American Innovation Project (AIP), a new advocacy coalition.
Summing up the mood, SEC Chair Paul Atkins called it "a new day for the crypto industry.” Adding, “we are about innovation. Now we want to embrace innovation."
August 21, 2025
