Gold-standard advocate Judy Shelton joins Bessent's Treasury to advise on currency policy, with China in focus

One of the best-known supporters of the gold standard now has a seat at the US Treasury. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Friday that Judy Shelton will serve as a counselor in the Office of the Secretary, advising him on currency policy "with a particular focus on evaluating financial conditions in China," according to the department's release.

Shelton is an economist and author who specializes in international finance and currencies. She is a former US director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a former chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, and has been a fellow at the Independent Institute and at Stanford's Hoover Institution, the Treasury said.

Markets know her for a job she did not get. Her nomination to the Federal Reserve during President Trump's first term failed to clear a Senate vote, CoinDesk noted. She is known for hawkish views on inflation and for backing the gold standard.

The appointment comes with US borrowing costs high. The 10-year Treasury yield was about 5.25% on Friday afternoon and gold traded above $4,180 an ounce earlier in the day, according to CoinDesk's market updates. The Treasury's release says nothing about bitcoin, stablecoins or other digital assets.

What to watch: any Treasury statement on China's currency, and whether Shelton's hard-money views show up in dollar policy.