March 14, 2025 - Washington, D.C. - On Thursday, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to United States Department of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the Department to cease all attempts to create a strategic cryptocurrency reserve, citing President Trump’s glaring conflicts of interest. 

“I write regarding President Trump’s recent executive order on the creation of a strategic reserve for cryptocurrency—an asset class that Mr. Trump initially wrote off as a ‘scam.’  Such a reserve provides no discernible benefit to the American people but would significantly enrich the President and his donors.  It would also constitute unsound fiscal policy by picking winners among currencies via social media and wasting taxpayer dollars on a plan that one federal reserve official described as ‘the dumbest idea’ ever.  I urge you to cease all attempts to create the strategic cryptocurrency reserve,” wrote Ranking Member Connolly. 

The letter follows President Trump’s announcement on Truth Social of plans to create a cryptocurrency reserve including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano as part of the Administration’s January 23, 2025, Executive Order titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” as well as President Trump’s March 6, 2025 Executive Order on the “Establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile.”

In his letter, the Ranking Member notes that at no point during the process of instituting such a cryptocurrency reserve has the President consulted with Congress, nor has the President indicated his intention to seek congressional authorization to create the strategic reserve. 

Ranking Member Connolly highlighted President Trump’s conflicts of interest in this endeavor, including: 

• The Trump Organization’s significant ownership in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture that “aspires to be a sort of digital asset bank, where customers will be encouraged to borrow, lend and invest in digital coins.”  President Trump maintains a large ownership stake in World Liberty Financial and stands to gain significantly with any increase in value. 
   
• President Trump’s $TRUMP memecoin money grab which cashes in on “a type of joke cryptocurrency that typically has no purpose beyond financial speculation [and] whose value tends to whipsaw dramatically with changes in public sentiment.”  Entities related to President Trump have reportedly made as much as $100 million in trading fees alone for this venture, which has been called his “most lucrative get-rich scheme yet.” 

“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, and request that you provide a briefing to the staff of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,”  concluded Ranking Member Connolly. 

The Ranking Member also requested answers to his questions no later than March 27, 2025. 

Click here to read the letter to Secretary Bessent. 
Source: Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform