Story Highlights
- David Sacks sells $200M in crypto holdings to prevent conflicts of interest.
- Sacks offloads Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and BITW fund investments.
- Craft Ventures retains ownership in Lightning Labs and BitGo.
David Sacks, recently appointed as the White House A.I. & Crypto Czar, has sold over $200 million worth of cryptocurrency investments. The decision emerged to eliminate possible conflicts that could affect his new employment position. White House reports that Sacks sold assets that contained Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) together with the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW). Additionally, he sold stock in important companies within the crypto space, like Coinbase and Robinhood.
Sacks withdrew his investment funds from Multicoin Capital, Blockchain Capital, and Bitwise Asset Management. Sacks continues to hold investment positions in specific funds that operate under Craft Ventures.
Donald Trump appointed Sacks to this position through his wide-ranging initiative for reforming American tech and crypto industries. He gained prominence as the Chief Operating Officer for PayPal until this major development in his career.
Sacks Cuts Ties with Crypto Firms to Avoid Bias
Sacks finished most of his sales for compliance purposes before Trump took the presidential oath on January 20. Associated assets entered the market for sale after Trump took office in January 20. He sold off all investments from the BITW fund containing Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Solana on January 22. Assets in the newly formed U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) include businesses that came from the Bitcoin mining operations acquired by Craft Ventures.
As a precaution to prevent any questions regarding bias, Sacks terminated all his investment positions with crypto-focused firms Blockchain Capital and Multicoin Capital. The investment portfolio of Craft Ventures includes ownership positions in Lightning Labs together with AL Ventures, Beldore Capital Fund, and BitGo. A White House memo states that current holdings do not create immediate conflicts based on his current position.
Interestingly, Sacks made his final cryptocurrency sale shortly after Senator Elizabeth Warren asked the public for information regarding his financial position within the crypto industry. She raised concerns following the U.S. plans to establish the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and extend digital asset policies.
