President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has disclosed ownership of spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) holdings worth as much as $500,000.
If confirmed for the position, the investor who co-founded Key Square Group says he will resign from the company and divest his investments.
Bitcoin Exposure Through IBIT
A document released on Saturday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) revealed Bessent’s ownership of the stake in a BTC ETF. It showed that the prospective government official held between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) shares.
The document also highlighted other investments made by the 62-year-old, including interests in the SPDR S&P 500 Trust, Invesco’s QQQ Trust, and its S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF. It also listed a residential property in the Bahamas worth $5 million and an art collection priced at at least $1 million.
In total, Bessent revealed holdings estimated at about $521 million, although analysts believe his portfolio could be worth much more as he is only required to list the value of his assets within broad ranges.
U.S. laws require high-ranking government officers to disclose their investments as well as plans for divestments if any of their holdings may pose a conflict of interest. Bessent, who was nominated to the powerful Treasury docket by Trump on November 22, 2024, is a well-known crypto supporter, previously describing digital assets as “integral to economic freedom and innovation.”
He beat out a long list of contenders, including Cantor-Fitzgerald CEO and co-chair of the Trump transition team Howard Lutnick, ex-Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, Tennessee lawmaker William Hargety, and Apollo Global executive Marc Rowan. Lutnick was picked to lead the Commerce Department.
Trump has also appointed several other crypto supporters to key positions in his administration, including Robert F. Kennedy as Secretary for Health and Human Services, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead a new department to streamline government efficiency, and David Sacks as his crypto and AI czar.
Will Bessent Liquidate BTC Position?
According to the OGE filing, Bessent will resign from his position as Chief Investment Officer at Key Square Group immediately following his confirmation by the Senate as Treasury Secretary and wind down his interest in the company within 90 days.
A Bloomberg report also indicates that, like the assets held through his macro hedge fund, Bessent will liquidate his crypto ETF position. However, Matthew Sigel, head of digital research at VanEck, has questioned Bloomberg’s reporting, pointing out that while Bessent footnoted his divestment of other assets, he did not do the same for his IBIT holdings, suggesting he might be keeping it. This view was reinforced by Swan Bitcoin’s Steven Lubka, who asserted in a January 12 post on X that the Treasury Secretary nominee will not be disposing of his Bitcoin position but will continue to hold it.
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