- Several members of Trump's cabinet invest in crypto.
- Financial disclosure statements show extent of nominees' holdings.
- Trump's pick for key intelligence post likes altcoins.
When Donald Trump holds his first cabinet meeting as president, he will be surrounded by his handpicked officials to lead the executive branch of government.
Many will be crypto bulls.
As part of the nomination process, Trump’s potential cabinet members have to submit financial disclosures.
Not every nominee has released one, but the disclosures show several top nominees, including two tapped to head the US intelligence community, are into crypto.
Here’s a rundown:
Sean Duffy
The biggest Bitcoin holder among nominees who have submitted public financial disclosures is Sean Duffy, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Transportation and a former US House representative from Wisconsin.
He owns between $500,000 and $1 million in Bitcoin in his own wallets as well as between $50,000 and $100,000 in Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, according to his ethics disclosure.
He also holds Solana, Litecoin, and Lido Staked Ether in his personal crypto wallet. In total, his crypto assets range from somewhere between about $570,000 and about $1.2 million.
Duffy was a consultant for Robinhood, the trading platform that also allows users to buy and sell crypto.
Scott Bessent
The Securities and Exchange Commission isn’t the only agency that regulates crypto. So, too, does the Department of Treasury.
Trump’s nominee as Treasury Secretary is Scott Bessent, founder of Key Square Group, a hedge fund based in South Carolina and New York City.
Bessent won Trump’s blessing over Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York-based financial services firm.
Cantor helps manage Tether’s reserves of US government debt that support USDT, Tether’s stablecoin.
Bessent has come out in support of Bitcoin, and he holds between $250,000 and $500,000 in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, according to his ethics disclosure.
Bessent plans, however, to divest his Bitcoin holdings after his confirmation, according to his ethics agreement.
John Ratcliffe
Trump’s pick to head the Central Intelligence Agency has no significant crypto holdings.
Still, John Ratcliffe, a former congressman from Texas and a former director of national intelligence, isn’t unfamiliar with crypto.
Starting in October 2023, he served on the advisory board for Paradigm, one of the biggest venture capital firms in crypto, according to his ethics disclosure.
He’s received $160,000 in fees for serving as an advisor, and he plans to step down from the role after his confirmation, according to his ethics agreement.
Tulsi Gabbard
A former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard switched to the Republican Party in 2024.
She soon won Trump’s favour and is his nominee for director of national intelligence.
Among the incoming Trump cabinet members with disclosed crypto holdings, Gabbard is a crypto omnivore.
She not only holds between $15,000 and $50,000 in Bitcoin in her Crypto.com wallet, she also holds the same amount in Bitwise’s spot Bitcoin ETF.
In addition, Gabbard has significant sums in Solana, Cronos, and Ether. In total, her crypto holdings are valued somewhere between $31,000 and $115,000, according to her ethics disclosure.
She plans to divest her crypto holdings after her confirmation, according to her ethics agreement.
Ben Weiss is DL News’ Dubai Correspondent. Got a tip? Email at bweiss@dlnews.com.