The encryption Tsar, David Sacks, is questioned about conflicts of interest: Does he indirectly hold encryption reserves through Bitwise?

US President Trump raided last night to announce the establishment of "encryption strategic reserves" and listed tokens such as BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP and ADA as core reserve assets, and the news triggered a sharp rise in the price of related coins. However, David Sacks, the White House "encryption and AI czar," has been accused of a significant conflict of interest with the policy, as his personal investments overlap highly with his reserve currency choices.

(Trump: Push encryption asset reserves by executive order, related assets surge over 75%, mentioning BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA)

Political-business relations on the surface? Sacks' "coincidental" position with Bitwise

Pathfinder Research founder Derek Martin pointed out in the early hours of today that David Sacks has been investing in encryption asset management companies and multiple encryption ETF issuers Bitwise through his venture capital firm Craft Ventures since 2017, and is listed as a major investor.

Coincidentally, the five major reserve currencies announced by the Trump administration closely match Bitwise's top five holdings. After the policy was announced, the prices of these encryption currencies surged rapidly, and Bitwise and its investors, (, including Sacks), may profit significantly as a result.

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 raises Martin's doubts:

Is Sacks involved in the reserve currency selection process? And do you disclose policy information to Bitwise in advance so that it can be laid out in advance?

Sacks' secret relationship with Solana

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

Another X user, Jacob Silverman, found a video from 2021, showing Sacks and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya openly discussing how to buy Solana at a price below the market price and planning to profit from selling it in the retail market, which makes people question the true intention behind their encryption-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, SOL has been included in the official US reserve assets, and the price has surged by more than 20%, making Sacks' conflict of interest even more pronounced:

If Sacks indirectly holds a large amount of SOL, how can he ensure that policy development is impartial?

( Trump shouts about encryption reserves, and the second term pays attention to the encryption market is better than the stock market? )

Special status exemption? Schiff criticizes regulatory loopholes

Martin also pointed out that Sacks, as a "special government employee (Special Government Employee)," is not subject to the financial disclosure requirements of ordinary public officials, which makes it impossible to know whether he has unduly benefited 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 criticized in a post that the Trump administration, through policies, is pushing up the prices of XRP, SOL, and ADA, which is equivalent to treating government agencies as private investment tools:

If the U.S. government becomes a "trader" in the encryption market, it may eventually drag down the real economy and benefit Chinese fishermen.

However, not everyone sees this as a scandal. X user Spreek countered, investing in ETF companies like Bitwise is different from holding encryption currencies directly, Sacks' profits may only have an indirect impact, rather than direct manipulation.

Still, doubts have subsided, as Sacks' investment record does overlap with his policy-making role.

Sacks responded that encryption assets have long been cleared, and the truth is still unclear.

This morning, Sacks also quoted the Financial Times report in response:

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

So far, there is no direct evidence that Sacks was involved in determining the list of reserve currencies or leaked information to its investment firms before the policy was released.

However, according to previous reports, the policy may be formulated by the "Digital Assets Working Group", and Sacks, as the host of the meeting, his special political status still exempts the requirement of financial transparency, and various factors make it difficult to rule out the possibility of him using his power for personal gain.

This article by encryption Tsar David Sacks questioned about conflict of interest: indirect holding of encryption reserves through Bitwise? It first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.