Wall Street Prices In Five Rate Cuts for 2025 as Powell’s Departure Looms

* Wall Street now pricing in five quarter-point rate cuts for 2025, up from four a month ago. * Powell’s potential departure fuels speculation of a more dovish successor. On June 28, 2025, Cryptopolitan reported a decisive shift in market sentiment following President Trump's critique of Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell and speculation about his replacement. As a result, traders now price in five consecutive quarter-point interest rate cuts by the end of next year, an increase from the four cuts forecast just a month ago. President Trump has publicly criticized Powell, calling him “Mr. Too Late” for allegedly delaying necessary rate cuts. In a recent post on the Truth Social platform, President Trump remarked, “I mean [Powell] goes out pretty soon, fortunately, because I think he’s terrible,” highlighting his dissatisfaction with Powell’s cautious approach to monetary policy. Trump also revealed he is reviewing a shortlist of “three or four people” as potential successors to Powell. Leading candidates to replace Powell include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Federal Reserve board member Kevin Warsh, and current Fed governor Christopher Waller. Waller has expressed openness to policy shifts and recently supported a rate cut as early as July. In addition, fellow Fed board member Michelle Bowman echoed this sentiment, citing softer inflation levels as grounds for future cuts. These comments have reinforced market confidence in an incoming shift toward more accommodative monetary policies. Analysts note that rate cut expectations align with Powell’s anticipated departure and also point to growing signs of dissent within the Federal Reserve board. Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets, stated, “I think that the prevailing market wisdom is that whoever replaces Powell is going to be more dovish.” This market confidence reflects the assumption that a Trump nominee would favor aggressive easing in monetary policy. Recent economic indicators, including improving inflation figures and internal divisions within the Fed leadership, support this trajectory. In May, inflation measured below expectations at 2.4%, which strengthened dovish sentiment in the market. However, Powell continues to adopt a cautious stance, announcing no plans for rate cuts before the fall as he assesses the impact of Trump’s tariffs. Meanwhile, traders are positioning for significant policy changes under a new Fed Chair. According to CoinMarketCap, as of 12:00 UTC on June 28, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $30,112, with its 24-hour trading volume up 1.8%. Ethereum (ETH) was priced at $1,902, and its 24-hour trading volume had increased by 2.5%.