Powell’s Final FOMC: Grading His Wins, Losses, and the Mixed Bag He Leaves for Trump’s Fed Pick Kevin Warsh

Powell’s final FOMC (press conference April 29, 2026) hands incoming chair Kevin Warsh a Fed running with policy rates at 3.50–3.75% and headline CPI re-accelerating to 3.3% after an Iran-driven oil shock. The article argues the policy legacy is mixed: aggressive pandemic-era liquidity supported risk assets and Bitcoin’s earlier rallies, while a late hiking cycle and communication missteps preceded bank stress. Warsh’s pitch for a smaller $6.7 trillion balance sheet, tougher inflation discipline and faster quantitative tightening is hawkish for liquidity but politically friendlier to crypto—he has >$100m in digital-asset holdings and opposes a retail CBDC. Net market takeaway: near-term pressure on BTC from tighter liquidity, but a longer-term narrative that non-sovereign reserves like Bitcoin could benefit from a leaner Fed balance sheet.