By Tom Wilson
(Reuters) – Cryptocurrency advocates and holders will soon influence U.S. policy on the emerging technology following a series of nominations and advisory appointments by President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday.
The crypto industry has spent years fighting lawsuits and enforcement actions from the US government. He hopes the new Trump administration will mark a change in policy.
Political appointees will be vetted for potential conflicts. Some have committed to sell their interests.
The industry held a sold-out black tie ball in Washington on Friday, with tickets ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. David Sacks, Trump’s AI and crypto czar, is scheduled to attend.
Below are some facts about the crypto positions of key members of the new administration and Trump’s inner circle.
SCOTT BESSENT
The billionaire hedge fund manager, Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary, spoke positively about crypto.
“Crypto is freedom and the crypto economy is here to stay,” he told Fox News in July. “I think everything is on the table with bitcoin.”
According to a financial report filed last month, Bessent holds shares in the BlackRock (NYSE: ) exchange-traded fund worth between $250,001 and $500,000. Bessent will sell his holdings in the fund and other investments within 90 days of his confirmation, he wrote to the U.S. Treasury Department last week.
Bessent did not respond to a request for comment.
HOWARD LUTNICK
Trump’s choice for Secretary of Commerce is a vocal supporter of bitcoin.
Lutnick is the CEO of New York-based brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald, which earns from fees for managing billions of dollars worth of US government bonds for the company that issues the stablecoin of the same name.
“Do I own bitcoin? Of course I do,” Lutnick said at the 2024 conference in July. “Does Cantor Fitzgerald own bitcoin? A bunch of bitcoin.”
Lutnick did not respond to a request for comment.
ELON MUSK
The head of Tesla (NASDAQ: ) and the world’s richest man, who was tapped by Trump to oversee the government’s cost-cutting efforts, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has long championed crypto, including bitcoin and dogecoin.
His public comments and the actions of his companies have in recent years affected the price of bitcoin and dogecoin, a smaller token conceived as a joke during the earlier crypto bubble.
The acronym for Musk’s cost-cutting agency, DOGE, is a nod to dogecoin, which is now the world’s seventh-largest crypto token based on its $4.5 billion in circulation, according to data provider CoinGecko.
In 2021, Tesla bought $1.5 billion in bitcoins, becoming one of the largest companies to own the cryptocurrency before selling most of its holdings. It held unspecified digital assets worth a total of $184 million as of September 2024, the company’s financial report showed.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment sent through Tesla about what crypto assets he might have.
Determined to cooperate with Musk in DOGE, the former presidential candidate and entrepreneur is the founder of Strive Asset Management.
Strive, which said in September it had more than $1 billion in assets under management, filed last month to launch an exchange-traded fund that invests in corporate bonds for bitcoin investments.
The asset management arm of the company, launched in November, seeks to integrate bitcoin into Americans’ investment portfolios, Ramaswamy said in a press release.
In June 2023, Ramaswamy held $100,001 to $250,000 of bitcoin and $15,001 to $50,000 of the smaller ether token, according to the financial report.
A former CEO of PayPal (NASDAQ: ), Sacks was named the White House AI and crypto czar in December, tasked with developing the US legal framework long sought by the crypto industry.
Sacks is the co-founder of venture capital firm Craft Ventures. The company has invested in crypto companies including BitGo and Bitwise, its website shows.
Sacks did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, a real estate tycoon and donor to the future president, founded crypto venture World Liberty Financial in November.
World Liberty, which sells the equity token, lists Trump on its website as among those entitled to a large share of the company’s revenue.
Witkoff did not respond to requests for comment.
ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP JR., BARRON TRUMP
Eric Trump told Reuters last year that he was very involved in World Liberty, which he, his older brother, Don Jr., co-founded. – koji se smatra najutjecajnijim članom obitelji u predsjedničkoj tranziciji – i mlađi polubrat Barron pomogli.
Eric told a bitcoin conference in December that the technology was a “financial revolution” and that his father would make the United States the crypto capital of the world.
JD (NASDAQ:) VANCE
US Vice President-elect Vance held between $250,001 and $500,000 in bitcoins in August 2024, according to a financial disclosure.
The venture capital firm co-founded by Vance, Narya, has invested in Strive, Ramaswamy’s asset management company and video platform Rumble, its website shows.
In November, Rumble said it would allocate its excess cash reserves to bitcoin. The company also received a $775 million investment from stablecoin company Tether last year.
Asked for comment on the crypto positions of Vance and the Trump sons, Trump-Vance transition spokesman Brian Hughes said — without providing evidence — that Washington bureaucrats sought to stifle innovation with more regulation and higher taxes.
“President Trump will deliver on his promise to advance America’s leadership in crypto and other emerging technologies,” he said in a statement to Reuters.
Atkins, a lawyer and former senior SEC official, is Trump’s pick to head the Securities and Exchange Commission and has pushed for deregulation. He is expected to take a softer approach to cryptocurrency than incumbent Gary Gensler.
Atkins is the CEO of consulting firm Patomak Global Partners (NYSE: ). Patomak advises “top crypto-native companies” and traditional financial firms on how to “leverage digital assets for growth,” according to his website.
Atkins did not respond to a request for comment.
