U.S. Representative Connolly Urges Secretary Bessent to Halt BTC Reserve Plans

U.S. Representative Gerald Connolly has urged U.S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discontinue efforts to create a strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. He expressed concerns that these reserves would benefit President Trump and his allies, rather than American taxpayers. Connolly’s letter emphasized:

> “The creation of a strategic cryptocurrency reserve is poised to enrich the President and his closest allies at the expense of American taxpayers. I urge you to cease all plans to create a strategic cryptocurrency reserve.”

Bitcoin Reserves and Transparency

As a ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reforms (COGC), Connolly highlighted that previous reserves were created for commodities that hold strategic value, such as petroleum, for use in economic crises. However, he sees little merit in the volatile cryptocurrency market, labeling it a “bad deal” for taxpayers.

Connolly pointed to the official TRUMP memecoin and President Trump’s family connections to the DeFi platform World Liberty Financial as potential conflicts of interest. He also raised concerns over Elon Musk’s significant influence in cryptocurrency, particularly through Dogecoin and its impact on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Additionally, he highlighted that David Sacks, the President’s AI and crypto czar, remains a partner at Craft Ventures, a digital asset investment firm, despite claims of divesting his cryptocurrency holdings prior to his administration role. Connolly stated:

> “Although…David Sacks claims to have sold his cryptocurrency prior to joining the Administration, he remains a partner at Craft Ventures, which invests in a cryptocurrency index fund manager that has holdings in BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA.”

Sacks is currently off ethics review, and the White House claims he has divested from Craft Ventures and other crypto investments. To prevent conflicts of interest regarding the President and his allies, Connolly requested Secretary Bessent to provide crucial documents, including those related to the creation of crypto reserves and financial disclosures from the Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.

Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Lummis has reintroduced the Bitcoin Act to establish a formal legal framework for BTC reserves.