Crypto Czar David Sacks Questioned for Conflict of Interest: Indirectly Holding Crypto Reserves through Bitwise?

Last night, US President Trump suddenly announced the establishment of a "Crypto Strategic Reserve", and listed BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP and ADA as core reserve assets, causing the prices of these cryptocurrencies to soar. However, White House "Crypto and AI Czar" David Sacks has been accused of having a major conflict of interest, as his personal investments highly overlap with the reserve currencies chosen.

(Trump: Pushing Crypto Asset Reserves by Executive Order, Related Assets Surge Over 75%, Naming BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA)

Political and Commercial Relations Surfaced? Sacks and Bitwise's "Coincidental" Holdings

Founder of political intelligence research institute Pathfinder Research, Derek Martin, pointed out this morning that David Sacks has been investing in crypto asset management company and ETF issuer Bitwise through his venture capital firm Craft Ventures since 2017, and is listed as a major investor.

Coincidentally, the five reserve currencies announced by the Trump administration are highly consistent with Bitwise's top five holdings. After the policy announcement, the prices of these cryptocurrencies soared rapidly, allowing Bitwise and its investors (perhaps including Sacks) to potentially profit significantly.

The top 5 holdings of the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund ( $BITW ):

1. BTC
2. ETH
3. SOL
4. XRP
5. ADA pic.twitter.com/ndFFURUE38

— Hunter Horsley (@HHorsley) March 2, 2025

This coincidence has led Martin to question:

Did Sacks participate in the selection process of the reserve currencies? Did he disclose policy information to Bitwise in advance to allow them to position themselves accordingly?

Sacks and Solana's Secret Origins

In addition to Bitwise, crypto KOL Fishy Catfish further revealed that Sacks is also a limited partner (LP) of crypto venture capital firm Multicoin Capital, which holds a large amount of SOL.

Another X user, Jacob Silverman, also dug up a video from 2021, showing Sacks and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya publicly discussing how to buy Solana at a price below market value, and planning to sell it on the retail market for profit, making one question the true intentions behind his crypto-friendly stance.

This 2021 video is notorious on crypto twitter and deserves wider viewership. Watch VCs David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya brag about buying huge amounts of Solana at a discount, planning to dump on retail. Solana has been called one of "Sam's coins" b/c SBF was a booster. pic.twitter.com/pzerYYzkOV

— Jacob Silverman (@SilvermanJacob) November 22, 2022

Now that SOL has been included in the US official reserve assets, its price has surged by over 20%, further fueling suspicions about Sacks' conflict of interest:

If Sacks indirectly holds a large amount of SOL, how can he ensure the fairness of the policy-making process?

(Trump Calls for Crypto Reserves, Will the Crypto Market Receive More Attention Than the Stock Market in His Second Term?)

Special Identity Exempt from Review? Schiff Angrily Criticizes Regulatory Loopholes

Martin also pointed out that Sacks, as a "Special Government Employee", is not subject to the financial disclosure requirements of regular public officials, making it impossible for the public to know whether he has improperly profited from any policies or statements.

I agree with @elonmusk and @joerogan that it's a disgrace that USAID employees used their office to enrich their families by taking kickbacks on grant money to bogus non-profits. But why is it OK for Trump to use his office to enrich his family by manipulating XRP, SOL, or ADA?

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) March 2, 2025

Gold bull Peter Schiff also posted on X criticizing the Trump administration for using policies to drive up the prices of XRP, SOL and ADA, effectively using government agencies as private investment tools:

If the US government becomes the "market manipulator" of the crypto market, it may ultimately drag down the real economy and benefit China.

However, not everyone sees this as a scandal. X user Spreek argued that investing in companies like Bitwise, which are ETF providers, is different from directly holding cryptocurrencies, and Sacks' profits may only be indirect rather than direct manipulation.

Nevertheless, public skepticism has not subsided, as Sacks' investment record does overlap with his policy-making position.

Sacks Responds to Crypto Asset Clearance, Truth Still Obscure

This morning, Sacks also cited the Financial Times report and responded:

The report is correct, I sold all my cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH and SOL, before taking office.

So far, there is no direct evidence showing that Sacks was involved in deciding the reserve currency list or leaking information to his investment company before the policy was released.

However, according to previous reports, the policy may be formulated by the "Digital Asset Working Group", and as the meeting host, Sacks' special identity still exempts him from financial transparency requirements, and various factors make it difficult for the outside world to rule out the possibility that he abused his power for personal gain.