Donald Trump is pledging to be a pro-crypto president, and the new administration’s affinity for digital assets likely won’t stop with the commander in chief.
Vice President-elect JD Vance and several of Trump’s presidential nominees have in the past disclosed or discussed their exposure to cryptocurrencies through asset ownership or business interests, according to federal filings and public statements.
They include Robert Kennedy Jr., Howard Lutnick, Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard — Trump’s picks to be Health and Human Services secretary, Commerce secretary, Defense secretary, and director of national intelligence, respectively.
Even Trump himself has acknowledged in past filings being an investor in digital assets. He owned between $1 million and $5 million of ethereum (ETH-USD), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, according to an August Federal Election Commission disclosure.
Last July, while campaigning, Donald Trump appeared onstage at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tenn. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm ·REUTERS / Reuters
He and his sons are also backers of World Liberty Financial, a crypto project they have been promoting on social media.
In exchange for that promotion, a Trump family-owned limited liability corporation receives 22.5% of the project’s crypto token (WLFI-USD) along with 75% of any net revenues after World Liberty earns $30 million.
The president and the vice president won’t be required under law to divest any of their holdings once in office, even if any potential conflicts of interest surface, although a law passed in 1977 does require them to file an annual disclosure listing their income, assets, and debt.
in August, Vance disclosed owning $250,000 to $500,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC-USD); it’s not known if he still has those holdings.
Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance, surrounded by his wife Usha and members of the Trump family, at the Republican National Convention in July. REUTERS/Brian Snyder ·REUTERS / Reuters
Things could get more complicated for some of Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
They will have to divest any of their assets if those assets present potential conflicts of interest central to their duties. A 2022 letter from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) clarified that this rule also applies to digital assets.
“Certainly, you have a lot of people in this administration that are coming in that have interests in crypto,” Ian Katz, managing director with Capital Alpha Partners, told Yahoo Finance. “They have an interest in crypto doing well and thriving, even if they have to divest holdings.”
Kennedy disclosed in June 2023 that he owned between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of bitcoin.
Last July, while attending a bitcoin conference in Nashville, he told Yahoo Finance, “I put a lot of my personal wealth into it, and not particularly to make money but just because it’s so well aligned with my values.”
Story Continues
Another Trump nominee, Lutnick, has already said that he would divest his interests in Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, where he is CEO.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while campaigning as an independent U.S. presidential candidate, spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tenn. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm ·REUTERS / Reuters
Cantor has played a crucial role for Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, by managing the US Treasurys that back its stablecoin (USDT-USD).
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Cantor’s relationship with the stablecoin issuer runs even deeper. Earlier this year, according to the Journal, the two companies struck an agreement giving Cantor a 5% ownership in Tether.
And after meeting with Lutnick in May, according to the Journal, Tether founder and CFO Giancarlo Devasini told associates Lutnick would seek to stop bills that could harm Tether.
If confirmed for his position, Lutnick said he would sell his interests in Cantor and related companies “to comply with US government ethics rules,” according to a statement.
Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee to become US Commerce secretary. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid ·REUTERS / Reuters
Trump’s pick for Defense secretary, Hegseth, is another nominee who has acknowledged owning bitcoin.
The day after Trump won the election, the 44-year-old Fox News political commentator and former Army National Guard officer admitted during a television broadcast of selling “some pretty high.”
“But I’m holding a bunch as well, so I feel good,” Hegseth added in the segment.
It is not known if he still owns any bitcoin, nor is it known whether he would have any involvement in crypto policy decisions if confirmed.
It is also not known if Gabbard, Trump’s choice to lead the US intelligence services, would have any hand in crypto policymaking.
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth as he departed a meeting on Capitol Hill on Nov. 21. REUTERS/Nathan Howard ·REUTERS / Reuters
When she was a member of Congress in Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district, she disclosed that she owned between $1,000 and $15,000 of ether and litecoin (LTC-USD) as of December 2017, according to a public filing.
It’s not known whether she still has any holdings. She spoke at a Miami bitcoin conference in 2023.
David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas in finance.
Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
