The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, has appointed hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his choice for Treasury Secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, the next person whose signature will adorn U.S. paper currency will be a fan of the digital currency ecosystem created to replace the conventional financial system.
Bessent heads Key Square Group, a macro investment firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and was, according to The Wall Street Journal, “one of the driving forces” behind Soros Fund Management’s famous bet — which yielded a profit of over $1 billion — that the British pound would collapse.
Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency as a whole are now in his sights. “I’m excited about [Trump’s] adoption of crypto and I think it fits very well with the Republican Party, his ethos. Crypto is about freedom and Crypto is here to stay,” he said in an interview with Fox Business in July. “Crypto is attracting young people, people who haven’t participated in the markets.”
Traders at Polymarket bet that he was a favorite. At one point, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick was also seen as one, but he ended up being chosen as Commerce Secretary. Lutnick has also been involved with digital assets, helping stablecoin issuer Tether manage the giant stock of U.S. Treasury bonds backing its USDT stablecoin since 2021.
