With just a week to go before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, billionaire hedge fund manager and Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessant is preparing to divest various assets, including his stake in the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT).
The transfer followed federal ethics guidelines that require candidates to sell specific holdings within 90 days of Senate confirmation to prevent conflicts of interest.
Blackrock Bitcoin ETFManaging over $50 billion in assets, it is the world's largest Bitcoin fund and one of the most closely watched investments in Besant's portfolio.
The crypto community embraced Trump's Treasury Secretary nomination in late November, largely because of Bessen't IBIT stock, which is worth between $250,001 and $500,000.
Besant disclosed his portfolio worth approximately 521 million dollars Filing The announcement was made Saturday by the US Office of Government Ethics.
It includes US Treasury bills, major ETFs like the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ( SPY ), hedge funds, commodities like gold and silver, and more.
In addition to selling certain assets, Besant will exit Key Square Group, the hedge fund he founded, and divest his interest in the firm.
While Besant has pledged to exit several holdings, questions remain about whether IBIT will be included.
This ambiguity led VanEck's head of research, Matthew Siegel, to speculate on the significance of the move on Twitter.
“I'm not quite sure why. Bloomberg He said he would sell a Bitcoin ETF. For other assets, the transfer is a footnote, but not the IBIT,” says Siegel He wrote At X on Monday.
In November, Trump He tapped In a bid for the role of Treasury Secretary, citing his extensive financial expertise and proven record as an investor.
“[Scott Bessent] It will help me usher in a new golden age for the United States,” Trump wrote on a real social platform at the time.
From 2011 to 2015, Besant served as the chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, overseeing the assets of billionaire George Soros and his charitable foundations.
Beyond his investment work, Besant taught economic history as an adjunct professor at Yale University from 2006 to 2010.
Bessant's confirmation hearing is scheduled for January 16, just days before Trump takes office.
If confirmed, it would play a key role in Trump's economic agenda, which includes tax cuts, deregulation and driving crypto adoption.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair.
Daily Debrief Newspaper
Start every day with top news stories, plus original features, podcasts, videos and more.
