David Sacks is not holding back against the media's portrayal of his recent crypto sell-off. In a bid to keep things spicy and transparent, Sacks, the AI and digital czar for the White House, wants to set the record straight: he didn't abandon ship on his crypto investments—he simply followed the rules.
With a lighthearted jab at the media's tendency to paint the crypto world in gloomy hues, Sacks took to social media on March 18 to clear the air. “Why is it that the media always wants to make crypto look like the villain?” he quipped. “I didn't ‘dump' my cryptocurrency; I divested it.”
Sacks' decision to part ways with his digital assets wasn't due to a lack of faith in the future of crypto. Nope, it was all about keeping things kosher with government ethics regulations. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics says that officials need to wave goodbye to their personal crypto holdings before diving into crypto-related policymaking.
Earlier this month, Sacks confirmed that he had offloaded his digital assets. A government memo from March 5 revealed that he and Craft Ventures, his investment firm, unloaded over $200 million in crypto holdings after his appointment by President Donald Trump. Personally, Sacks cashed out at least $85 million worth of crypto before stepping into his new role.
Back in the day, Sacks and his firm were big players in the digital asset scene, with stakes in companies like Robinhood and Coinbase, and partnerships with venture capital firms Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital. While Craft Ventures is still hanging onto some crypto startup investments, Sacks himself is officially out of the direct crypto game. His remaining ties are limited to stakes in BitGo and Lightning Labs, which form a small slice of his total assets.
The crypto czar faced some heat after Trump's announcement about including certain cryptocurrencies, like Solana, in a national digital assets reserve. Critics were quick to suggest that Sacks was using his position to bulk up his portfolio. But in a classic plot twist, Sacks had already sold most of his holdings to steer clear of any conflicts of interest.
Backing him up, crypto heavyweight Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, chimed in with support, saying, “He's doing amazing work and won't be pocketing any of the economic upside to keep things squeaky clean.”
So, there you have it—David Sacks, sticking to the rules and keeping it real in the crypto world.
