As the bitcoin price recovers following a catastrophic bear market, crypto bulls are optimistic that good times lie ahead.

Moreover, they predict that the public’s embrace of bitcoin will strengthen over time as they lose faith in the Federal Reserve for its “irresponsible” fiscal policies.

Travis Kling is the founder and chief investment officer of Ikigai Asset Management. He says the Fed’s recent manipulation of interest rates has caused many people to lose faith in central banks.

Kling: Bitcoin Price Rally Was a Reaction to the Fed

In fact, Kling believes the recent bitcoin price spike was caused by growing public distrust of the Federal Reserve.

“I would say broadly it was central banks [that caused the recent rally],” Kling told MarketWatch. “[Bitcoin] has become a hedge against irresponsible monetary and fiscal policy.”

Kling added: “We had the Fed do a complete U-turn into dovish mode. Then everyone else [European Central Bank and Bank of Japan] followed. We now have this set-up where they [central banks] have become politicized both in the U.S. and globally. It’s the new world we are living in.”

Highlight: “I think we have definitely seen a renewed interest in the last two months,” says Ikigai Asset Management Founder Travis Kling on $BTC topping $5,000. https://t.co/ohsBg29IFZ pic.twitter.com/OUg8dia0Gz — Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) April 2, 2019

Larry Kudlow: ‘The Fed Is Independent’

Travis Kling is suggesting that as the Fed’s artificial manipulation of interest rates — and hence, the stock market and the economy — becomes more apparent, investors will increasingly flock to bitcoin as a hedge against traditional monetary policies.

Kling said the Fed’s misguided quantitative tightening policy fuels public distrust in central banks.

Kling seems to believe that President Donald Trump’s fiery smack-downs of the Federal Reserve caused chairman Jerome Powell to decide not to raise interest rates in 2019.

However, Larry Kudlow — the White House’s chief economic adviser — trashed these kinds of insinuations.

Kudlow says the Fed is independent and does not take orders from Trump, Fox Business reported. Because if the Fed actually listened to the White House, it wouldn’t have raised interest rates four times in 2018 alone.

“The Fed is independent,” Kudlow said. “We are not trying to compromise that independence. Never will. I, by the way, started my whole career at the Fed a long time ago.”

El-Erian Previously Predicted That the Fed Won’t Raise Rates in 2019

Similarly, economist Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at German mega-bank Allianz, predicted back in February that the Fed would not raise rates again in 2019.

“I suspect they will do nothing this year, and next year will likely loosen,” El-Erian said February 5.

In March 2019, Fed chair Jerome Powell suggested that he won’t raise interest rates this year. This caused Wall Street to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Before Powell made the statement, President Trump had slammed him for raising interest rates four times in 2018. The move caused the stock market to tank in December, and fueled widespread fears of a U.S. recession.

Bold Call: Mohamed El-Erian Predicts Federal Reserve Will Reverse Course, Cut Interest Rates in 2020https://t.co/Mp68IRCfPR pic.twitter.com/lCuwmhn2sW — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) February 5, 2019

The Fed Raised Rates Four Times in 2018

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates seven times during Trump’s two-year presidency; it boosted them four times in 2018 alone.

In contrast, the Fed increased rates just once during Barack Obama’s entire eight-year presidency. That’s why Trump was complaining.

Meanwhile, critics of the Federal Reserve say it’s time to abolish the central bank. Former Congressman Ron Paul — the father of current Senator Rand Paul — has repeatedly said the Fed should let the free market dictate interest rates instead of artificially manipulating them.

Rather than help the economy, Ron Paul says the Fed’s artificial machinations could actually cause a recession. Paul is a former bitcoin skeptic-turned-proponent.

Ex-Bitcoin Skeptic Ron Paul Says Crypto Could Prevent Recession https://t.co/1HLxDRwQQ9 — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) October 31, 2018

Ron Paul: It Is Time to End the Fed!

In December 2018, Ron Paul torched the Fed on Twitter, saying it “has NO IDEA what rates should be,” and that it “manipulates prices and distorts the economy.”

Accordingly, Paul said it’s time to end the Fed because “central planning produces a world of economic delusions.”

The Fed has NO IDEA what rates should be. The Fed manipulates prices, distorts the economy, and makes decisions by looking at the "data" of a distorted economy. Central planning produces a world of economic delusions. America needs to get back to reality. End The Fed! pic.twitter.com/achfl4uIQ8 — Ron Paul (@RonPaul) December 19, 2018

As CCN.com reported in October 2018, Ron Paul has repeatedly warned against a “Fed-created recession.”

“This could be the major catastrophe that leads to the end of fiat currency,” Paul said.

Pro-Bitcoin Ron Paul: It’s Time to Abolish Federal Reserve, Embrace Tax-Free Crypto https://t.co/TSJIq0CYr3 — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) December 21, 2018

Ron Paul said the only way to avoid a Fed-created recession is to let people use alternative currencies like bitcoin and to exempt crypto from taxes.