U.S. Treasury Secretary discloses up to $500,000 in BTC ETFs

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, owns up to $500,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

A filing disclosed on Saturday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) revealed that Bessent owns between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) spot Bitcoin ETF shares. The document also highlights his stakes in the SPDR S&P 500 Trust, Invesco’s QQQ Trust, and its S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF.

The filing also listed a Bahamas property worth $5 million owned by Bessent. In total, his assets are estimated to be worth about $521 million.

United States high-ranking government officials are required to disclose their investments. Bessent was nominated to be the next Treasury docket by Republican President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 22, 2024 and is now among the people required to disclose such information.

Bessent is a well-known crypto supporter who described it as “integral to economic freedom and innovation.” The recently released filing also notes that he will resign from his position as Chief Investment Officer at Key Square Group immediately after the Senate’s confirmation as Treasury Secretary. He will also have to let go of his financial holdings in the company within 90 days.

A recent Bloomberg report suggests that, much like the assets that he holds through his macro hedge fund, Bessent will also be forced to liquidate his Bitcoin ETF holdings. Matthew Sigel, head of digital research at VanEck, disagreed and pointed out that Bessent subscribed to the divestment of many assets — but not his IBIT holdings:

“Upon Reflection, I’m not so sure why Bloomberg says he will be selling the Bitcoin ETF. For other assets, the divestment is footnoted, but not $IBIT.”

Sigel seemingly suggests, that the contents of the form imply that Bessent intends to keep his exposure to Bitcoin. Swan Bitcoin’s Steven Lubka seemingly supported this interpretation in a Jan. 13 X post:

“Incoming Treasury Secretary Bessent will not be selling his $500k BTC position but will continue to hold it”

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