David Sacks, President Donald Trump’s adviser for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, and his venture-capital firm Craft Ventures have divested more than $200 million worth of holdings related to the digital-asset industry, according to a memo released by the White House.
Sacks and Craft Ventures sold all their liquid cryptocurrency holdings, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, prior to Trump’s inauguration, the memo dated March 5 from White House counsel David Warrington said. Sacks divested his stock in Coinbase Global Inc. and Robinhood Markets Inc. as well as limited-partner interests in crypto funds Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital, according to the memo. Craft also sold its interests in Multicoin Capital and Bitwise Asset Management Inc.
At least $85 million of the more than $200 million in divestments was attributable directly to Sacks, the memo said, adding that the sales came “at a significant tax cost” because special government employees like Sacks are not entitled to deferments of capital-gains taxes.
The disclosures were made in the memo that provides Sacks with a waiver from conflict-of-interest regulations in order to serve as Trump’s special adviser, or czar, for AI and crypto, a role designed to help guide the president’s digital-asset policies. Sacks was also named as chair of the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. He joined a slate of ultra-wealthy people who have secured influential seats in the new administration. The combined net worth of 12 of Trump’s richest appointees is nearly $400 billion.
Trump, a critic of crypto during his first term who went on to become a vocal supporter during last year’s campaign, already has delivered a handful of wins to the digital-asset industry over the first two months of his administration. Roughly two dozen crypto-industry executives attended a White House summit last week and Trump signed an executive order calling for the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate stockpile of other digital assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission has dismissed about a dozen legal actions against crypto companies since former Chair Gary Gensler resigned when Trump took office.
Sacks also has initiated the sale of his limited-partner interests in Sequoia funds and 90 other VC funds, according to the memo. Sacks is also in the process of divesting minor stakes in Animoca Brands Co., Open Deal Inc. and Amalgamated Token Services Inc., the memo added.
Sacks also disclosed remaining investments that include financial interest in several VC funds managed by Craft Ventures which own private equity in digital-asset companies that are “highly illiquid and thus not easily divested,” according to the memo.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
