Hossam Ellsbagh

Former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell says the U.S. central bank would lose the credibility it needs to steady the economy if officials could be removed over policy disagreements. The warning landed as the Supreme Court weighs President Donald Trump’s effort to fire Governor Lisa Cook.
Key Takeaways:
Powell said the Federal Reserve forfeits public trust if a president can dismiss officials over policy, per June 1 remarks.The warning came amidst a time when the Supreme Court is weighing Trump’s bid to remove Governor Lisa Cook over fraud claims.Kevin Warsh now leads the Fed, leaving 2026 rate expectations and crypto liquidity tied to its independence.
A Direct Defense of Central Bank Independence
Powell delivered the comments while accepting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston, in one of his most pointed defenses of the institution he led for nearly eight years. He argued that if any administration removes Federal Reserve officials over policy differences, future administrations are likely to do the same, resulting in the public losing faith that the central bank acts in the interest of all Americans. Stripped of that trust, he said, the Fed would forfeit the credibility that underpins a strong and stable economy.
The comments were notable for their bluntness, given central bankers typically avoid weighing in on live political fights, but Powell framed the matter as existential rather than partisan. The Federal Reserve, he suggested, will not survive as an independent institution if its officials can be dismissed simply for holding unpopular views on interest rates or inflatioImage sourceX
Powell’s timing was no accident as his remarks coincide with the Supreme Court’s deliberations over Trump’s attempt to remove Governor Lisa Cook, whom the president has sought to fire over unproven mortgage-fraud allegations. The case is widely seen as the most serious test of Fed independence in decades, because a ruling for the White House would establish that a sitting president can purge the central bank’s leadership at will.
Powell, who stepped down as chair earlier in 2026, still holds a seat on the Board of Governors and has signaled he intends to stay until his governor term ends in January 2028. That keeps him a visible figure even after handing the gavel to Kevin Warsh, who took the Fed chair oath with unanimous backing from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Lawmakers were split sharply over independence during Warsh’s confirmation, a divide Powell’s speech has reignited.
Why Crypto Markets Are Listening
For digital-asset investors, the fight is more than a constitutional curiosity. The Federal Reserve sets the price of money, and its perceived independence shapes expectations for interest rates, the dollar, and the appetite for risk assets (with bitcoin being one of them). A central bank seen as bending to political pressure could be pushed toward looser policy, a scenario some traders associate with higher bitcoin prices but also with the currency-debasement fears that have long fueled the asset’s “hard money” narrative.
Should the Supreme Court side with Trump, analysts warn the resulting uncertainty over monetary policy could inject fresh volatility across both equities and crypto. Powell also tied the stakes to the broader institutional fabric, using the award platform to caution against political pressure on the courts and schools as well as the central bank.
The Coming Weeks Are Crucial
A decision affirming presidential authority to remove governors would, in Powell’s telling, hand every future administration the same lever and erode the firewall between politics and monetary policy.
Either way, Powell has made clear he intends to keep speaking out from his governor’s seat, even as Warsh runs policy. For crypto traders watching liquidity conditions, the message is that the Fed’s credibility (and the rate path that flows from it) may hinge less on near-term economic data than on a courtroom in Washington.

As the Ethereum Foundation undergoes restructuring, a debate on social media is pitting industry figureheads against one another to discuss the state of Ethereum and how it might be “saved.” Dankrad Feist, an Ethereum developer, proposes the rise of an organization “economically aligned” with the project.
Key Takeaways:
After 9 Ethereum Foundation departures spooked markets, Simon Dedic says the network must next focus on business.Noting 2 years of unrest over ETH tokenomics, Laura Shin warns the network must next fight for market share.Amid a leadership void, Dankrad Feist next pitches a $1B alternate group to save Ethereum’s market status.
Ethereum at a Crossroads: Leadership Crisis
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency project, is now in the spotlight after its foundation lost 9 prominent figureheads, prompting discussions about the organization’s validity in today’s dynamic crypto environment.
The departure of at least 9 leaders and investigators at the Ethereum Foundation has worried the community about the lack of leadership the organization has exposed, questioning its role as the era of stewardship of Ethereum comes to an end.
Simon Dedic, Founder and Managing Partner at Moonrock Capital and an early Ethereum supporter, stated that he could not ignore the departure of individuals such as Tim Beiko, Josh Stark, Barnabé Monnot, Trent Van Epps, and Carl Beek, calling the situation “a red flag.”
“The infrastructure circle jerk and the idealistic cypherpunk phase of selling delusional dreams in crypto was great and fun, but it’s over,” he concluded, and criticized Ethereum’s lack of business focus.
Laura Shin, host of the Unchained podcast, also stated that Ethereum’s failure to consider ETH tokenomics with updates that hurt the “ultrasound money” narrative.
“When the main offering becomes ideology/communism and money/tokenomics/capitalism are overlooked, the peasants are going to revolt — as they’ve been doing for two years now,” she assessed.
She criticized the Ethereum ecosystem’s “rest on its laurels” attitude, as the crypto ecosystem is currently experiencing a fierce battle for adoption and market share.
Dankrad Feist, an Ethereum developer and collaborator, floated a proposal to save Ethereum by creating an alternate organization economically aligned with Ethereum. This organization would have an initial funding of at least $1 billion, with a competent leader and a board to make it accountable for its actions.
This new structure would also be self-funded through staking rewards and a governance network that can adjust the funding level. “Very hard to imagine now, but I think this is the only way (and it will probably happen, but it might take a long time before it is consensus),” he declared.

XRP and RLUSD were described as serving separate XRP Ledger roles, with XRP routing trades and RLUSD supporting dollar-based transactions. Evernorth’s Sagar Shah described XRP as an intermediary asset that routes trades in the background, while stablecoins remain tied to issuer requirements and compliance obligations.
Key Takeaways:
Evernorth says XRP supports routing across XRP Ledger assets without direct counterparties.
RLUSD provides dollar stability, but issuer controls may limit universal routing use.
Expanding on-chain finance may require both stablecoins and neutral bridge assets.
XRP Ledger Routing Structure Separates XRP From RLUSD
As tokenized finance expands across blockchains, Evernorth argued that XRP remains essential infrastructure for routing liquidity between digital assets. A blog post published on the Evernorth website on May 20 by Sagar Shah, chief business officer at Evernorth, outlined why RLUSD and XRP serve different functions on the XRP Ledger.
Within that framework, RLUSD was characterized as a regulated dollar-backed stablecoin intended for transactions involving stable pricing and fiat-linked settlement. XRP, meanwhile, was positioned as the neutral bridge asset connecting trades across tokenized markets without relying on a single issuer or intermediary.
The executive argued that direct trading becomes less efficient as more assets enter a marketplace, especially when trading pairs lack dedicated liquidity. Shah explained that XRP streamlines those transactions by serving as an intermediary asset on the XRP Ledger. Under that structure, trades involving tokenized Treasury bills and euro stablecoins can settle automatically through XRP in the background, while users only see the asset they send and the asset they receive. Shah wrote:
“I often get some version of this question: ‘If RLUSD does what XRP was supposed to do, why do you still need XRP?’”
Liquidity Pools and Escrow Functions Reinforce XRP Use
Liquidity pools and automated market maker structures on the XRP Ledger were also highlighted as part of XRP’s routing role. Shah explained that pools require two separate assets, making XRP a recurring intermediary between markets. RLUSD can pair with euro stablecoins or tokenized Treasury products, though broader trading activity across the ledger still depends on an additional bridge asset connecting liquidity between pools.
Collateralized lending and escrow systems were also presented as core XRP Ledger use cases involving XRP. Shah described XRP as collateral for borrowing arrangements tied to stablecoins and tokenized assets, citing its liquidity and the absence of issuer intervention during loan periods. He also highlighted XRP Ledger’s native escrow functionality, which locks XRP until predefined dates or conditions are fulfilled directly on-chain. Shah wrote:
“The XRP step is invisible to the trader … But the XRP in the middle is what makes the trade possible, instantly, without anybody having to find a specific buyer on the other side.”
Evernorth framed RLUSD and XRP as complementary infrastructure for expanding on-chain finance. Shah positioned RLUSD as the dollar-denominated asset, while XRP was described as supporting routing, liquidity, collateral, and settlement across the XRP Ledger ecosystem.
The discussion follows Evernorth’s focus on institutional blockchain infrastructure and XRP-based treasury operations. Recent company commentary highlighted XRP Ledger features tied to compliance controls, restricted environments, escrow tools, and approved trading venues. Evernorth also referenced a tokenized Treasury redemption involving Ondo Finance, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, and Ripple. Separate Form S-4 disclosures outlined a planned Nasdaq listing under ticker XPRN alongside more than $1 billion in gross proceeds allocated toward an XRP treasury strategy.
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Comisia pentru Valori Mobiliare din SUA (SEC) a abordat decizia judecătorului Analisa Torres în cazul Ripple cu privire la XRP, subliniind sancțiunile financiare semnificative impuse companiei cripto și încălcările sale continue ale legii valorilor mobiliare. În timp ce Ripple a sărbătorit o amendă redusă cu 94%, autoritatea de reglementare a confirmat că instanța a recunoscut încălcările de valori mobiliare ale lui Ripple.