The next U.S. Treasury Secretary will sell shares of the Bitcoin-ETF. Why is this necessary?
Newly elected US President Donald Trump has decided on many key candidates for various government positions, with cryptocurrency investors predominantly liking them. For example, the new chairman of the Securities Commission will be the already familiar to us Paul Atkins, while the post of Secretary of the Treasury will tentatively go to Scott Bessent. Previously, the latter invested large sums in Bitcoin-related assets, but now he will have to get rid of them.
What the new U.S. Treasury Secretary will invest in
Scott Bessent is the founder and manager of the popular hedge fund Key Square Group, as well as a generally wealthy person. The news of his possible appointment as U.S. Treasury Secretary in November was greeted warmly by crypto enthusiasts.
Yet as it turns out, Bessent holds a position in BlackRock’s largest spot Bitcoin-ETF called iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Its size is between $250,001 and $500,000.
Next US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
However, the billionaire will soon have to get rid of the shares of the IBIT fund. Still, the sale of various assets is included in the Federal Ethical Standards, which oblige a candidate for public office to sell some of his savings within 90 days after the Senate approves his nomination. In this way, the official prevents conflicts of interest.
Note that Bessent, Atkins and other figures were selected by Trump for their respective positions. However, their final assumption of office depends on the members of the Senate, who will deal with the confirmation. However, practice shows that the proposals of newly elected presidents are usually supported.
Scott Bessent revealed the contents of his investment portfolio on Saturday, and it was published by the Office of Government Ethics. The portfolio includes U.S. Treasury bills, large ETFs along the lines of the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (SPY), hedge funds, precious metals along the lines of gold and silver, and more.
If Bessent is appointed as US Treasury Secretary, he will also have to resign as head of Key Square Group and get rid of his own stake in it.
The next U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
Bloomberg experts have no doubts that the newly elected minister will sell shares of the spot Bitcoin-ETF from BlackRock. However, the representative of the largest investment fund VanEck Matthew Siegel disagreed with this version. His quote is quoted by Decrypt.
I don’t entirely agree with Bloomberg’s comment about the impending sale of Bitcoin-ETF shares. For other assets, the need for a sale is listed in a footnote, but there is no mention of IBIT.
That said, during the announcement of Bessent’s selection for the position in November, Donald Trump said Scott had excellent experience in the world of finance along with a proven track record as an investor. Here’s an archived comment.
Scott Bessent will help me bring a new golden age for the US.
Prior to launching hedge fund Key Square Group, Bessent also served as chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management from 2011 to 2015, where he monitored billionaire George Soros’ asset management along with the latter’s charitable foundations. He also taught economic history at Yale University as a visiting professor from 2006 to 2010.
The relevant confirmation hearing of Bessent’s nomination for the post of US Treasury Secretary is scheduled for 16 January, that is next Thursday. Which means the event will happen before the very inauguration of Donald Trump, scheduled for Monday 20 January.
What will happen with the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the US
Next Monday, another important event for the crypto industry will take place – the dismissal of Gary Gensler as chairman of the Securities Commission. As head of the regulator, he was remembered for actively fighting the crypto industry, mass lawsuits and creating uncertainty among blockchain entrepreneurs.
Recall, Gensler often called cryptocurrencies “unregistered securities”, although such a concept is absent in the official legislation. At the expense of this, Gary wanted to move the sphere of coins under the jurisdiction of the SEC, after which he dealt with companies in court.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler
Fortunately, this did not always end in a victory for the regulator. For example, in the summer of 2023, the court did not recognise the cryptocurrency XRP as a security, as the SEC insisted. This means that the Commission can’t have any questions about the transactions of ordinary retail investors with coins through centralised cryptocurrency exchanges.
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Despite his imminent dismissal, Gensler still doesn’t like crypto. This became clear thanks to the recent comments of the official, who once again criticised the coin sphere.
Newly elected US President Donald Trump buys burgers with bitcoins
Crypto users believe that the change in SEC leadership and the renewed composition of Congress, which is already considered the most coin-friendly in US history, will lead to an improved position of the crypto industry. At the very least, the new authorities are expected to create an adequate framework for crypto governance, which would allow entrepreneurs not to fear a sudden fine and work under clear rules.
The issue of selling shares of spot Bitcoin-ETFs by the new U.S. Treasury Secretary has not yet been decided, but the probability of such a thing is quite high. In any case, the operation will go through because of the requirements of Scott Bessent's position. Well, his investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a BTC-based instrument already says more than it needs to.
Look for more interesting stuff in our crypto chat room. We look forward to seeing you there today.
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