Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Friday, reclaimed her role as the lone dissenting voice amidst all the excitement triggered by the upcoming White House Crypto Summit. She sent a letter to the POTUS-appointed crypto and AI czar David Sacks, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest as he carries out his role. Photo of Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a news headline-style X post. Source: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (X/Twitter) What she wants seems simple: a semblance of the modus that defined the previous SEC administration. Warren wants to uphold the standard that people with so much political influence over what goes on in the crypto industry should not be trading tokens. Warren in her letter, demanded that Sacks make his financial disclosures with the government public. Her request raises eyebrows as it comes days after Trump announced the creation of an American “crypto strategic reserve” and hours before the first crypto summit in the country. Several high-profile crypto executives have been confirmed as attendees, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Strategy chair Michael Saylor, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov, and Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s letter asks the tough questions There is a lot going on both outside and inside the crypto space. However, many are struggling to keep up with the metamorphosis of the cryptocurrency industry triggered by institutional and federal interest in BTC. However, as everything and everyone is moving so fast, Warren wants to be sure nobody no rules are being broken. For example, she wanted to know how Sacks has addressed his “conflicts of interest” and how he plans to prevent “the President and other private individuals from directly profiting off of the Trump Administration’s efforts to selectively pump the value of certain crypto assets.” AI and crypto czar David Sacks poses for a photo with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Source: David Sacks (X/Twitter) Her letter is pointing the spotlight to several steps that have been taken by the Trump administration on crypto recently. This includes the SEC’s declaration that meme coins are not securities, the regulator’s dismissal of its case against Coinbase, and the halt in the case against Justin Sun, Tron’s founder and a vocal supporter of Trump-linked ventures like World Liberty Financial. Warren, a ranking member on the Senate’s banking committee, wants Sacks to reveal whether he has filed any financial disclosures with the Office of Government Ethics, if he has recused himself on any matter after accepting his appointment, and how long he plans to remain a “special government employee.” The senator’s letter also wants Sacks to disclose the exact dates he divested Bitcoin, Ether, and SOL tokens from his portfolio — something he claims he did — and the exact date his firm Craft Ventures divested from crypto asset manager Bitwise Investments. She also demands that Sacks make several other disclosures regarding his potential advanced knowledge of Trump’s crypto reserve announcement and how the Trump administration determined the tokens to be included in the reserve, among other things. “Americans deserve strong leaders who will prioritize the public interest ahead of their own bottom lines,” her letter read . “I hope you address these obvious concerns about conflicts of interest.” The market’s response to news of Trump’s crypto strategic reserve Donald Trump formally announced the creation of the reserve on Sunday, but when he shared a list of tokens to be included, he initially omitted ETH and BTC, only naming XRP, SOL, and ADA. President Donald Trump after a meeting with Secretaries, DOGE head Elon Musk and other Cabinet members. Source: The White House (X/Twitter) Whether that was by accident or design is known only to him and his caucus, but Trump only clarified ETH and BTC would be included later on using the word “obviously” as though he had deliberately omitted them because he expected everyone to know they would naturally be included. The prices of many crypto tokens were immediately affected by the announcement. Most had taken a beating in the previous week but saw a good recovery as a result of the announcement. BTC, one-half of the “heart of the reserve,” surged by 11% over the past week even though the price slipped below $90,000 once again on Friday—falling as low as $85,000 before rallying to around $88,875. Despite the boost Trump’s announcement gave the ecosystem, BTC’s price remains 18.4% below the all-time high of $109,114 it achieved on the day of Trump’s inauguration. SOL also saw a surge in price after Trump’s announcement around March 2, 2025, running from approximately $130 to as high as $160-$170, although some sources claimed it peaked near $148.89 shortly after the news broke. Unfortunately, the excitement did not last long, and by March 4, SOL was already in decline again, falling 16-20% from its post-announcement high to around $143-$148. XRP and ADA reacted the most strongly to the news; XRP pumped by about 20-56%, while ADA saw a price surge of up to 73% in the hours after the announcement. Will Sacks honor Warren’s requests? Warren’s requests make sense in the broader scheme of things; after all, they address the existential risk of insider trading. Sacks may have to honor the requests to ensure his own followers harbor no doubts about his integrity. At least that was what Howard Lutnick, the man Trump tapped to lead the agencies crucial to the U.S.-China trade war, did when his financial ties to China were highlighted as a potential conflict of interest. President Donald Trump after a meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in August 2024. Source: Howard Lutnick (X/Twitter) “Mr. Lutnick’s conflicts of interest in China appear to be substantial. How can the American people expect someone who is on the Chinese government’s payroll to help level the playing field with China for working Americans?” Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who chairs the Senate finance committee, asked last year while the matter was being debated. According to a statement posted to BGC’s website, Lutnick promised to step down from his positions at Cantor and BGC, companies with ties to China. “I intend to divest my interests in these companies to comply with U.S. government ethics rules and do not expect any arrangement which involves selling shares on the open market,” he said . Lutnick fulfilled that promise in January as part of the process for his Senate confirmation hearing to become U.S. Commerce Secretary. The documents revealed that he made nearly $200 million thanks to his role at Cantor Fitzgerald. Whether Sacks will oblige Warren’s demands remains to be seen. Cryptopolitan Academy: Tired of market swings? Learn how DeFi can help you build steady passive income. Register Now
