By Tom Wilson
(Reuters) – Crypto advocates and holders will soon influence U.S. policy on the new technology following a series of nominations and advisory appointments by President Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday.
The crypto industry has spent years fighting lawsuits and enforcement actions from the US government. It hopes the incoming Trump administration will mark a shift in policy.
Political appointees will be investigated for potential conflicts. Some have committed to selling their interests.
The industry is hosting a sold-out black-tie event 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 incoming administration and Trump’s inner circle.
SCOTT BESSENT
A billionaire hedge fund manager, Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, has spoken positively about crypto.
“Crypto is about 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 disclosure filed last month, Bessent owns shares in a BlackRock (NYSE: ) bitcoin exchange-traded fund worth between $250,001 and $500,000. Bessent will divest his interests in the fund and other investments within 90 days of his confirmation, he wrote last week to the U.S. Treasury Department.
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 brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald, which earns fees for managing billions of dollars of US Treasuries for , the company that issues the eponymous stablecoin.
“Do I own bitcoin? Of course I do,” Lutnick said at the 2024 conference in July. “Does Cantor Fitzgerald own bitcoin? A piece of bitcoin.”
Lutnick did not respond to a request for comment.
ELON MUSK
The Tesla (NASDAQ: ) chief and the world’s richest man, chosen by Trump to oversee the government’s cost-cutting efforts, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has long been a champion of crypto including bitcoin and dogecoin.
His public comments and the actions of his companies have in recent years influenced the price of bitcoin and dogecoin, a smaller token conceived as a joke during an 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 bitcoin, becoming one of the largest companies owning crypto, before selling most of its holdings. It had unspecified digital assets totaling $184 million as of September 2024, a corporate financial report showed.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment sent through Tesla about what crypto assets he may have.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY
The former presidential candidate and entrepreneur who will work with Musk at DOGE is the founder of Strive Asset Management.
Strive, which said in September it managed over $1 billion in assets, filed last month to launch an exchange-traded fund that invests in corporate bonds for bitcoin investments.
The company’s wealth management arm, launched in November, seeks to integrate bitcoin into Americans’ investment portfolios, Ramaswamy said in a press release.
By June 2023, Ramaswamy had $100,001 to $250,000 worth of bitcoin and $15,001 to $50,000 worth of the smaller token ether, according to a financial disclosure.
He did not respond to a request for comment.
DAVID SACKS
Sacks, a former PayPal (NASDAQ: ) executive, was appointed artificial intelligence and crypto czar in the White House in December, tasked with developing a U.S. legal framework long sought by the crypto industry.
Sacks is the co-founder of venture capital firm Craft Ventures. The firm has invested in crypto firms including BitGo and Bitwise, its website shows.
Sacks did not respond to requests for comment.
STEVE WITKOFF
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, a real estate magnate and donor to the president-elect, founded crypto venture World Liberty Financial in November.
World Liberty, which sells a proprietary 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. – seen as the most influential family member in the presidential transition – and younger half-brother Barron helped form.
Eric told a bitcoin conference in December that the technology was a “financial revolution” and that his father wanted to make the US the crypto capital of the world.
JD (NASDAQ: ) VANCE
US Vice President Vance had between $250,001 and $500,000 in bitcoin in August 2024, according to a financial disclosure.
The venture capital firm co-founded by Vance, Narya, has made investments 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 last year received a $775 million investment from stablecoin firm Tether.
Asked to comment on the crypto stances of Vance and Trump’s sons, Trump-Vance transition spokesman Brian Hughes said — without providing evidence — that Washington bureaucrats had sought to stifle innovation with more regulation and higher taxes.
“President Trump will make good on his promise to encourage American leadership in crypto and other emerging technologies,” he said in a statement to Reuters.
PAUL ATKINS
Atkins, a lawyer and former top SEC official, is Trump’s pick to head the Securities and Exchange Commission and has advocated for deregulation. He is expected to take a softer approach to crypto than current chairman Gary Gensler.
Atkins is the CEO of Patomak Global Partners (NYSE: ), a consulting firm. Patomak advises “cutting-edge crypto-native companies” and traditional financial firms on how to “leverage digital assets for growth,” its website says.
Atkins did not respond to a request for comment.
