David Sacks, the Trump administration’s AI and crypto czar, met with Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3. Before assuming his role, Sacks divested over $200 million worth of digital asset-related investments, with at least $85 million directly attributable to him, according to a memo from White House counsel David Warrington. While Craft Ventures, Sacks’ firm, remains invested in some funds with digital assets, his divestments contrast sharply with the administration’s past conflicts of interest.
President Trump, in addition to his real estate holdings, holds a significant stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, and has launched various crypto projects affected by government policies. Elon Musk, also a key adviser to the president, has interests in SpaceX, X, and xAI, potentially influencing regulations to benefit his businesses.
Days before his inauguration, Trump introduced a memetoken called $TRUMP through CIC Digital LLC, owning 80% of the coin’s supply. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency benefits from SpaceX’s government contracts, including a $1.8 billion deal with the National Reconnaissance Office for spy satellites. Reports show that multiple cabinet members, like Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, have significant investments in cryptocurrencies.
Sacks, known for his role in the All-In podcast, disclosed divesting $200 million in crypto to avoid conflicts of interest, following criticism from public officials like Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren raised concerns about potential conflicts and urged Sacks to reveal financial holdings in various assets proposed for Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. After Trump’s executive order establishing the reserve exclusively for bitcoin, Sacks clarified that it would be funded by tokens seized in legal cases, ensuring no taxpayer expense.
The order also established a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile overseen by the Treasury Department, for the custody of seized cryptocurrencies. As per Sacks’ ethics disclosure, he and his venture firm divested all of their liquid cryptocurrency assets, which included bitcoin, ether, and solana, along with his personal holdings in the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, and stakes in Coinbase and Robinhood. Additionally, Sacks initiated the process of selling his investments in private digital asset companies, such as his interests in crypto-focused funds like Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital. Despite retaining a few digital asset-related holdings in his portfolio, these constitute less than 0.1% of his total investment assets, with plans for their sale being described as “certain and imminent.”In other news from CNBC: The U.S. stock market experiences a $5 trillion decline in value over three weeks, the FAA enforces permanent restrictions on helicopter traffic in Washington following a fatal collision, and the price of gold surpasses $3,000 for the first time as investors seek shelter from Trump’s tariffs.
