Trump adviser David Sacks' "clearance drama"

Recently, a memorandum released by the White House disclosed a major move by David Sacks, Trump's AI and encryption consultant, before taking office: selling more than $200 million worth of digital asset-related investments.

Clearance details

According to a memorandum written by White House Counsel David Warrington, Sacks and his venture capital firm Craft Ventures liquidated cryptocurrencies and related assets before taking office.

The document shows that at least $85 million "belongs directly to Sacks." The assets sold include mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, as well as Bitwise 10 crypto index fund shares and Coinbase and Robinhood stocks.

In addition, Sacks has begun liquidating his shares in private digital asset companies, including limited partner interests in crypto investment funds such as Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital.

Sacks explained in a recent All-In podcast that the sell-off was to avoid "any impression of a conflict of interest." He said: "I don't want to give any impression of conflict of interest, especially since I'm about to take a government position."

How "rich" is Sacks?

David Sacks is a Silicon Valley legend and one of the core members of the "PayPal Gang". He joined Confinity (later renamed PayPal) as chief operating officer in 1999 and promoted PayPal's transformation from security software to electronic payment platform. In 2002, PayPal successfully went public, and Sacks became a star in Silicon Valley.

After PayPal, Sacks founded the enterprise collaboration platform Yammer in 2008 and sold it to Microsoft for $1.2 billion in 2012. In 2017, he co-founded the venture capital firm Craft Ventures, which focuses on early-stage SaaS and market platform investments and manages more than $3.3 billion in assets. In addition, he has also dabbled in film production and invested in several well-known films, such as "Thank You for Smoking" and "Daliland".

As an angel investor, Sacks' investment portfolio includes more than 20 technology unicorns such as Facebook, SpaceX, Uber, and Airbnb. His investment vision is precise and covers a wide range of fields, including artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

Sacks is also one of the four hosts of the popular podcast "All-In", discussing technology, business and political topics with Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya and David Friedberg. Since its launch in 2020, the podcast has attracted a large number of subscribers and has become an important voice in the technology circle.

Although Sacks' net worth has never been made public, Fortune magazine estimates that it is estimated to be as high as US$2 billion by the end of 2024. His wealth mainly comes from his early equity in PayPal, the sale of Yammer, investment income from Craft Ventures, and his shares in several unicorn companies. In addition, he has also been involved in the field of cryptocurrency, investing in projects such as BitGo and Lightning Labs.

Crypto Advisor to the Trump Administration

In 2024, Sacks was appointed as the Trump Administration's AI and Crypto Advisor, responsible for developing digital asset-related policies. He discussed with other key lawmakers at the White House Crypto Summit how to make the United States a global leader in blockchain technology. Sacks advocates reducing excessive regulation of cryptocurrencies and actively promotes regulatory discussions on stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi), and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

On March 6, Trump signed an executive order announcing that the United States will establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, which will be funded entirely through tokens in criminal and civil forfeiture cases to ensure that there is no increase in taxpayer burden. In addition, the order also created a U.S. digital asset reserve managed by the Treasury Department to hold other confiscated cryptocurrencies. As Trump's AI and crypto advisor, Sacks played a key role in this policy development.

At least six members of Trump's cabinet hold Bitcoin

It is worth noting that many members of Trump's cabinet hold Bitcoin or other crypto assets.

According to financial disclosures from December 2024 to January 2025, six of the 22 cabinet members officially announced that they hold Bitcoin, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy ($1 million to $5 million), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant ($250,000 to $500,000) and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (over $550,000).

Manipulation Questions

The potential conflict of interest within the Trump administration in the field of encryption has recently been pushed to the forefront. Sacks said that he had cleared all cryptocurrencies before serving as a consultant. The well-known economist Peter Schiff publicly questioned Sacks:

"What about your family, friends and former colleagues? I'm sure they also hold these tokens, although they may have sold them in the market rally after the policy was announced. I am also convinced that you gained huge personal benefits after Trump won because his victory caused an uproar, including your nomination and the campaign promises he made." 

Although some cabinet members have pledged to divest crypto assets to avoid conflicts of interest, their holdings may still affect policy making, attracting criticism from many Democrats.

Senior Democrat Elizabeth Warren recently publicly called for the disclosure of the identities of those who helped Trump determine strategic Bitcoin reserve assets and confirmed whether these people were subject to conflict of interest laws. She said, "These actions may benefit billionaire investors, Trump administration insiders and speculators, while middle-class families will be harmed."