Over the previous couple of days, the newly elected US President Donald Trump has crammed various positions in his new cupboard, though an important place for the Bitcoin group—the Secretary of the Treasury—stays open. The position of Secretary of the Treasury may very well be decisive for the institution of a nationwide strategic Bitcoin reserve, as promised by Trump throughout his election marketing campaign.
In keeping with rumors, it’s a neck-and-neck race between Scott Bessent—former govt at George Soros’ hedge fund and founding father of Key Sq. Hedge Fund—and Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. Whereas Bessent has attracted consideration prior to now with pro-BTC feedback, Lutnick is taken into account an absolute Bitcoin bull who’s massively invested in BTC himself.
Lutnick revealed in a current interview with Anthony Pompliano, “I personal lots of of thousands and thousands price of Bitcoin, and I anticipate that quantity to quickly be within the billions.” Throughout the Bitcoin 2024 convention, he said, “Bitcoin is similar as gold. And Bitcoin ought to commerce the identical as gold—in all places on this planet, with out exception.”
Lutnick Is The Excellent Choose For Bitcoin
Including to the discourse, Tesla CEO Elon Musk voiced his assist for Lutnick through a put up on X on Saturday morning. Musk wrote, “Can be fascinating to listen to extra folks weigh in on this for Donald Trump to think about suggestions. My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual selection, whereas Howard Lutnick will really enact change. Enterprise-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we want change a method or one other.” This assertion got here hours earlier than Musk appeared beside Trump at Madison Sq. Backyard for a UFC occasion.
Musk’s endorsement immediately responded to a put up by Kyle Bass, CIO of Hayman Capital Administration, who argued for Bessent’s {qualifications}. Bass had said, “Scott Bessent is eminently extra certified than Howard Lutnick to run the US Treasury. Scott understands markets, economics, folks, and geopolitics higher than anybody I’ve ever interacted with. Markets have already anticipated a Bessent selection. Lutnick just isn’t Trump’s reply.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., just lately appointed as america Secretary of Well being and Human Providers (HHS) by Trump, additionally weighed in on the Treasury Secretary debate. Kennedy commented on Bass’s assertion, saying, “Bitcoin is the foreign money of freedom, a hedge towards inflation for middle-class People, a treatment towards the greenback’s downgrade from the world’s reserve foreign money, and the offramp from a ruinous nationwide debt. Bitcoin may have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnick.”
Tuur Demeester, a board member of the Texas Bitcoin Basis, highlighted the huge influence which Kennedy might have close to US Bitcoin insurance policies, stating, “Nov ’24: a Kennedy who’s about to supervise 27% of US Federal spending offers Bitcoin his strongest doable endorsement—for particular person liberty, to steadiness the price range, and to save lots of the greenback.”
Notably, the competition for the Treasury Secretary place is difficult by stories from The New York Instances and The Wall Avenue Journal. In keeping with these sources, Lutnick, who co-chairs Trump’s transition workforce, has reportedly strained relations with the president-elect attributable to perceptions of overstepping and potential self-interest within the transition course of.
Extra contenders for the position embody former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and Apollo International Administration CEO Marc Rowan. Each are into account as Trump’s advisors search candidates aligned with the administration’s financial agenda, significantly the implementation of great tariffs on imports—a cornerstone of Trump’s coverage platform.
Furthermore, there stays hypothesis concerning the emergence of a darkish horse candidate. Robert Lighthizer, the previous US Commerce Consultant throughout Trump’s first time period and a key architect of the commerce battle with China, is being thought-about for a possible appointment as a “commerce czar.”
In keeping with Polymarket, it’s nonetheless a decent race. Scott Bessent is main by a slim margin with 36%, adopted by Howard Lutnick with 34.9%. Kevin Warsh holds 16%, Marc Rowan 9%, Invoice Hagerty 3%, and Robert Lighthizer 2%.
At press time, BTC traded at $91,908.
Featured picture created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
