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Recently, a memo disclosed by the White House disclosed a major move by Trump’s AI and crypto adviser David Sacks before taking office: selling investments worth more than $200 million in digital assets.
Clearance details
According to a memo written by White House legal counsel David Warrington, Sacks personally and its venture capital firm Craft Ventures cleared cryptocurrencies and related assets before taking office.
The document shows that at least $85 million is “directly attributable to Sacks.”The assets sold include mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Bitwise 10 crypto index fund shares and shares of Coinbase and Robinhood.
In addition, Sacks has begun liquidating his stake in private digital asset companies, including limited partners in crypto investment funds such as Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital.
Sacks explained in a recent All-In podcast that the sell-off was to avoid “any impression of conflict of interest.”“I don’t want to make the impression of any conflict of interest, especially as I am about to take up a government position,” he said.
How “luxury” are Sacks?
David Sacks is a Silicon Valley legend and one of the core members of the “PayPal Gang”.He joined Confinity (later renamed PayPal) in 1999 as Chief Operating Officer, driving PayPal’s transformation from security software to electronic payment platforms.In 2002, PayPal was successfully launched, and Sacks became a star in Silicon Valley.
After PayPal, in 2008, Sacks founded the enterprise collaboration platform Yammer and sold it to Microsoft for $1.2 billion in 2012.In 2017, he co-founded venture capital firm Craft Ventures, focusing on investment in early-stage SaaS and market platforms, with assets under management of more than $3.3 billion.In addition, he has also dabbled in film production and invested in many well-known films, such as “Thank You for Smoking” and “Dali Land”.
As an angel investor, Sacks’ portfolio includes more than 20 technology unicorn companies including Facebook, SpaceX, Uber, Airbnb, etc.He has a precise investment vision and a wide range of areas, including artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
Sacks is also one of four hosts of the popular podcast All-In, discussing tech, business and politics with Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya and David Friedberg.Since its launch in 2020, the podcast has attracted a large number of subscribers and has become an important voice in the tech world.
Although Sacks’ net worth has never been made public, Fortune Magazine estimates it is estimated to be around $2 billion as of the end of 2024.His wealth comes primarily from early equity in PayPal, the sale of Yammer, the investment income of Craft Ventures, and his stake in several unicorn companies.In addition, he has also entered the cryptocurrency field and invested in projects such as BitGo and Lightning Labs.
Trump administration’s crypto adviser
In 2024, Sacks was appointed as an AI and crypto consultant to the Trump administration, responsible for formulating policies related to digital assets.He discussed with other key lawmakers at the White House crypto summit how the United States can be the global leader in blockchain technology.Sacks advocates reducing over-regulation of cryptocurrencies and actively promotes regulatory discussions on stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi) and central bank digital currency (CBDC).
On March 6, Trump signed an executive order announcing that the United States will establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve that will be funded entirely through tokens in criminal and civil confiscation cases, ensuring that taxpayers will not be burdened.Additionally, the order creates a U.S. digital asset reserve managed by the Treasury Department for holding other forfeited cryptocurrencies.Sacks, as Trump’s AI and crypto adviser, played a key role in this policy formulation.
At least six members in Trump’s cabinet hold Bitcoin
It is worth noting that several members of Trump’s cabinet hold Bitcoin or other crypto assets.
According to financial disclosures from December 2024 to January 2025, six of the 22 cabinet members officially announced their holdings of Bitcoin, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy ($1 million to $5 million), Treasury Secretary Scott Besent ($250,000 to $500,000) and Transport Secretary Sean Duffy (over $550,000).
Manipulation doubt
Potential conflicts of interest within the Trump administration in the field of crypto have been pushed to the forefront recently. Sacks said that he had cleared all cryptocurrencies before serving as an adviser. Peter Schiff, a well-known economist, publicly questioned Sacks:
“Where are your family, friends and former colleagues? I’m sure they also hold these tokens, although they may have sold out in the market uptrend after the policy was announced. I’m also sure that after Trump’s victory, you’ve gained a huge personal benefit because his victory caused a stir, including your nomination, and his campaign commitments.”
Although some cabinet members have promised to divest crypto assets to avoid conflicts of interest, their positions may still affect policy making and have attracted criticism from Democrats.
Senior Democrat Elizabeth Warren recently publicly demanded the disclosure of those who helped Trump determine the assets of strategic Bitcoin reserves and confirm whether these people are bound by conflict of interest laws.”These behaviors could benefit billionaire investors, Trump administration insiders and speculators, while middle-class families would suffer.”
