Billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, plans to divest several assets, including investing in bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), to avoid potential conflicts of interest with his new position. according to a report by The New York Times.
On Saturday, Bessent, who once worked for billionaire liberal philanthropist George Soros, filed the ethics agreement and financial disclosures required for impending Senate confirmation, revealing assets and investments worth more than $700 million. The count includes BTC ETF holdings worth between $250,000 and $500,000, according to media reports.
The other key investments that raise a potential conflict of interest include a margin loan of more than $50 million with Goldman Sachs, a Chinese currency trading account and a stake in the conservative publisher All Seasons.
Bessent, in a letter to the ethics office, promised to “avoid any real or apparent conflict of interest should I be confirmed for the position of Secretary of the Treasury Department.”
If confirmed, pro-crypto Bessent would face the challenging task of managing growing federal debt amid Trump’s plans to extend expiring tax cuts and eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits.
Bessent is an advocate of tax reform and deregulation, particularly to boost bank lending and energy production. In October last year, Bessent said the new Trump administration would likely pursue a strong dollar in line with Washington’s decades-long policy.
