Crypto Investors Who Could Land in the Trump White House

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 Trump presidential nominees have in the past disclosed or discussed their exposure to cryptocurrencies through asset ownership or business interests, according to federal documents and public statements .

Among them are Robert Kennedy Jr., Howard Lutnick, Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard whom Trump chose as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Defense and Director of National Intelligence, respectively.

Even Trump himself has admitted in past documents to being an investor in digital assets. He owned between $1 million and $5 million worth of Ethereum (ETH-USD), the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, according to an August disclosure from the Federal Election Commission.

Last July, while campaigning, Donald Trump appeared on stage at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm REUTERS/Reuters

He and his sons also support World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that they promote on social media.

In exchange for this promotion, a limited liability company owned by the Trump family receives 22.5% of the project's crypto token (WLFI-USD) as well as 75% of all net revenue after World Liberty earns $30 million .

The president and vice president will not be required by law to divest their holdings once in office, even if potential conflicts of interest arise, although a law passed in 1977 requires them to file an annual statement listing their income, assets, and debt.

in August, Vance revealed he owned between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC-USD); it is unclear whether he still possesses these assets.

Republican vice-presidential candidate 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 Trump cabinet nominees.

They will have to divest all their assets if these assets present potential conflicts of interest at the core of their functions. A 2022 letter from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) clarified that this rule also applies to digital assets.

“Certainly there are a lot of people in this administration who have interests in crypto,” Ian Katz, managing director at Capital Alpha Partners, told Yahoo Finance. “They have an interest in crypto doing well and prospering, even if they have to divest their stakes.”

Kennedy revealed 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 invested a lot of my personal wealth into it, and not particularly to make money, but just because that it corresponds so well to my values. »

The story continues

Another Trump nominee, Lutnick, has already said he would divest his interest in the 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, Tennessee. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm REUTERS/Reuters

Cantor played a crucial role for Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, managing the U.S. Treasuries 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 reached a deal giving Cantor a 5% stake in Tether.

And after meeting with Lutnick in May, according to the Journal, Tether founder and CFO Giancarlo Devasini told associates that Lutnick would seek to stop bills that could harm Tether.

If confirmed to his position, Lutnick said he would sell his stakes in Cantor and its related companies “to comply with the U.S. government's ethics rules,” according to a statement.

Howard Lutnick, Trump's nominee for US Commerce Secretary. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid REUTERS / Reuters

Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, Hegseth, is another candidate who has admitted to owning Bitcoin.

The day after Trump won the election, the 44-year-old Fox News political commentator and former National Guard officer admitted on a television show that he had sold “some for a pretty high price.”

“But I also have a bunch, so I feel good,” Hegseth added in the segment.

It is unclear whether he still owns bitcoin, or whether he would be involved in crypto policy decisions if confirmed.

It's also unclear whether Gabbard, Trump's pick to lead U.S. intelligence, would have a role in shaping crypto policy.

Pete Hegseth, nominee for Secretary of Defense, as he leaves a meeting at the Capitol on November 21. REUTERS/Nathan Howard REUTERS/Reuters

While serving as a congresswoman in Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District, she disclosed that she owned between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of Ether and Litecoin (LTC-USD) in December 2017, according to a public filing .

It is unclear whether she still has any assets. She spoke at a Bitcoin conference in Miami in 2023.

David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto and other areas of finance.

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