Federal Reserve mourns passing of former Chairman Alan Greenspan at 100

Alan Greenspan, the 13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve and one of the most consequential central bankers in American history, has died at the age of 100. The Federal Reserve confirmed his passing with a statement noting “deep sadness” over the loss of its former leader.

Greenspan died on June 22, 2026, from complications related to Parkinson’s disease, according to his wife, NBC News journalist Andrea Mitchell. He had turned 100 in March, just months before his death.

A tenure that shaped modern monetary policy

Greenspan’s nearly 19-year run atop the Federal Reserve, from August 1987 to January 2006, remains one of the longest chairmanships in the institution’s history. He served under four presidents: Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr.

During that stretch, US GDP contracted only once. He navigated the 1987 stock market crash just weeks after taking office, steered monetary policy through the longest peacetime economic expansion in US history, and presided over the dizzying rise of the dot-com bubble.

Greenspan’s preference for light-touch regulation and low interest rates during the early 2000s came under intense scrutiny after the 2008 financial crisis. Critics argued his policies, particularly the reluctance to rein in the housing market and derivatives trading, helped lay the groundwork for the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Greenspan himself acknowledged in congressional testimony that he had found a “flaw” in his free-market ideology.

Greenspan and Bitcoin: a philosophical mismatch

In both 2013 and 2017, he weighed in on Bitcoin, and his verdict was not kind. His core objection was philosophical: Bitcoin, in his view, lacked intrinsic value.

What this means for markets and crypto investors

In practical terms, Greenspan’s passing has not moved crypto markets. No significant price swings, no unusual trading volume, no rush to either buy or sell digital assets in the wake of the announcement.

Bitcoin launched just three years after he stepped down, born explicitly as a response to the kind of centralized monetary policy he championed. Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, embedded a headline about bank bailouts into the genesis block.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs now trade on major exchanges. Banks are exploring tokenization. Stablecoins have become a significant part of the Treasury market.

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