Crypto and crypto markets pulled back Tuesday amid Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh’s confirmation hearing and concerns around stalling Iran peace talks, weighing on markets.
Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee, Warsh emphasized the Federal Reserve’s independence, pushing back on speculation about political pressure on rate decisions.
Meanwhile, uncertainty around negotiations between Iranian and U.S. officials rose as the Wednesday ceasefire deadline approached and reports emerged that Vice President JD Vance’s trip to Pakistan for peace talks had been halted.
The U.S. government also implemented a set of sanctions targeting 14 individuals, entities, and aircraft for their alleged “involvement in procuring or transporting weapons or weapons components for the Iranian regime.”
Trading just below $77,000 earlier in the session, BTC slipped to near $75,000 during the U.S. session before bouncing back to $75,700, some 0.9% lower over the past 24 hours.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both gave up early morning gains and were 0.1%-0.2% lower in the afternoon session.
Crypto-related stocks declined more. Exchange Coinbase (COIN) dropped more than 6%, while Robinhood (HOOD), a retail brokerage with significant crypto trading exposure, fell 4.5% during the session. Galaxy (GLXY), a digital asset investment firm, slid 5.5%, while stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) plunged 8.3%.
Fed independence
During the Senate Banking Committee hearing, Fed chair nominee Warsh addressed questions on rate policy and policy independence from Trump’s pressure to lower rates.
“I never said to the President where I think rates should be… and I wouldn’t have even thought about doing so,” Warsh said.
“The President never asked me to predetermine, commit, fix, decide on any interest rate decision in any of our discussions, nor would I ever agree to do so,” he said. “[Trump] never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision period, and nor would I ever agree to do so.”
However, Trump has repeatedly called publicly for lower interest rates, putting pressure on current Fed Chair Jerome Powell and raising concerns about the central bank’s independence.
The president even said on Tuesday during a CNBC interview that he would be disappointed if Warsh doesn’t cut rates right away.
Warsh also struck a constructive tone on crypto, saying digital assets are “already part of the fabric of our financial services industry.”
While Warsh’s remarks suggested that he felt less urgency to cut rates, he would likely still favor lower rates as chairman, according to Matt Mena, senior crypto research strategist at asset manager 21shares.
“While [Warsh] maintains a reputation for fiscal discipline, he has spent years arguing that the central bank’s reliance on lagging data has kept rates unnecessarily high, stifling growth and creating market volatility,” Mena said in a note.
He added that Warsh’s appointment could also prove positive for crypto policy, noting he would be the first Fed chair with deep ties to the digital asset industry. Warsh has invested in dozens of crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and views bitcoin as “the new gold for people under 40,” he added.
Looking towards the second half of 2026, Mena argued that a more proactive easing stance could create a “high-liquidity environment” that has historically supported risk assets like bitcoin, potentially pushing prices back toward $100,000.
UPDATE (April 21, 19:39 UTC): Updates to add stalled Iran talks.
UPDATE (April 21, 18:09 UTC): Adds Kevin Warsh’s remarks about President Trump and interest rates.