Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook isn’t mincing words. She’s prepared to hike interest rates if inflation keeps climbing, a posture that should make anyone holding risk assets, crypto included, sit up and pay attention.
What Cook actually said
In a speech on November 3, 2025, Cook laid the groundwork for this hawkish positioning. She expressed readiness to act “forcefully” against larger or persistent tariff effects, or if inflation expectations became entrenched above the Fed’s target.
By February 4, 2026, Cook doubled down. She pointed to headline inflation running at approximately 2.9% and core inflation hovering around 3%. Both figures remain stubbornly above the 2% target the Fed has been chasing. Progress, she acknowledged, had stalled.
Core goods inflation has been a particular thorn, driven largely by the effects of tariffs rippling through supply chains and consumer prices. Cook noted that underlying core PCE inflation was estimated at around 2.3% as of late 2025.
