Key Takeaways
- In her letter, Warren questioned Sacks’ involvement in crypto investments, particularly his links to Bitwise Asset Management, and asked him to provide a detailed timeline of his divestments.
- Warren argued that the reserve is “the most recent example of a Trump Administration crypto policy with the potential to benefit a wealthy, well-connected few at the expense of taxpayers.”
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, has called on David Sacks, President Donald Trump’s Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, to disclose financial details and clarify how he is handling conflicts of interest.
The senator’s letter raises concerns about the administration’s recent push for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and its potential to benefit select individuals within Trump’s circle, including wealthy investors.
In her letter, Warren questioned Sacks’ involvement in crypto investments, particularly his links to Bitwise Asset Management, and asked him to provide a detailed timeline of his divestments.
“Despite your public statements via X, it remains unclear exactly when you personally divested from BTC, ETH, and SOL, when Craft Ventures divested from Bitwise, and whether people close to you ‘may have held positions and sold into the recent price surge,’” she wrote. She also demanded to know how Sacks plans to prevent private individuals, including Trump, from profiting off crypto policies advanced by the administration.
The issue stems from Trump’s March 6 executive order, which established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate “Digital Asset Stockpile” comprising cryptocurrencies seized through government legal actions. While the order does not instruct the government to buy crypto, it has already influenced market prices, raising concerns about potential insider trading. Warren argued that the reserve is “the most recent example of a Trump Administration crypto policy with the potential to benefit a wealthy, well-connected few at the expense of taxpayers.”
Trump’s announcement of the reserve initially included assets such as XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). He later clarified on Truth Social that Bitcoin and Ethereum would be “the heart of the Reserve.” The announcement caused a sharp price increase in several cryptocurrencies, followed by a subsequent drop, leading to speculation about market manipulation. Warren has now pressed Sacks to confirm whether anyone in his orbit profited from early knowledge of the reserve’s creation.
Adding to her concerns, the senator pointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent decisions to drop investigations and lawsuits against major crypto firms, including Coinbase.
She highlighted that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was scheduled to attend a White House crypto summit chaired by Sacks, questioning whether policy decisions are being influenced by industry insiders and political donors. “Today, just two weeks after the SEC dropped this case, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong will attend the White House crypto summit that you will chair,” Warren wrote.
Sacks has publicly stated that he exited his $74,000 position in the Bitwise ETF on January 22, while Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley confirmed that Craft Ventures had started divesting from the company more than two months ago. However, Warren has insisted on further documentation to ensure transparency. She has also requested information on how many federal employees working on crypto policy are subject to conflict-of-interest laws.
The broader Republican push to deregulate financial consumer protections has also come under scrutiny.
Warren criticized recent GOP-led legislation aimed at blocking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from regulating fraud on payment apps like Venmo, CashApp, and Elon Musk’s “X Money.” She also noted that the Senate is set to vote on a bill that would allow Musk to issue “X Money” as a stablecoin with minimal consumer safeguards.
Warren has given Sacks until March 14, 2025, to provide responses and documentation addressing her concerns. “Americans deserve strong leaders who will prioritize the public interest ahead of their own bottom lines,” she wrote. With the administration pushing forward its crypto policies, the senator’s challenge could set the stage for deeper scrutiny of potential financial conflicts within Trump’s inner circle.
