Key Takeaways
- Trump picks hedge fund manager and prominent Bitcoin advocate Scott Bessent to lead the U.S. Department of Treasury. The 62-year-old will be responsible for the administration’s economic agenda, deficit spending, tax and debt management, and financial regulation.
- The founder of Key Square Capital Management is well known for his prediction that the British pound and Japanese yen would collapse.
- A key challenge for Bessent would be managing the $36 trillion federal debt, extending the Trump-era tax cuts expiring next year, and most importantly, the incoming administration’s plans to establish a national Bitcoin stockpile.
- Bessent is an avid supporter of the crypto asset industry and highlighted that it would bring younger investors to the capital markets.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary. The hedge fund manager and Bitcoin advocate will be the country’s top economic official and play a major role in shaping crypto policies, including the possibility of establishing the strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Trump Appoints Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Scott Bessent As Treasury Secretary
The 62-year-old billionaire founder of fund Key Square Capital Management has been advising Trump on economic policy since the onset of his campaign. If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent will be the next person whose signature adorns the dollar. He will oversee the Treasury Department’s broad portfolio including the economic agenda, tax management, debt management, and financial regulation.
Before running Key Square Group, Bessent worked for billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros at the Soros Fund Management. As per the Wall Street Journal, he was “one of the driving forces” behind the hedge fund’s famous $1 billion bet that the British pound and Japanese yen would collapse.
Some of his immediate responsibilities as the Treasury secretary will be looking at the federal debt limit, which is fast approaching $36 trillion, the expiring provisions from the 2017 tax cuts under the first Trump presidency, and implementing the incoming President’s economic agenda.
He will be responsible for implementing Trump’s commitment to a policy of aggressive tariffs on foreign imports, a move that has raised concerns among other nations.
Bessent has called for deregulation, tax cuts, and addressing the country’s “debt burden”, which he blamed on the Biden administration’s “reckless spending” policy. The hedge fund manager previously declared that the new Trump administration would work on strengthening the dollar and not seek to devalue it.
As the 79th treasury secretary, Bessent would be the highest-ranking economic official in the U.S., responsible for the smooth functioning of the world’s largest economy, managing its $28.6 trillion Treasury debt market, and overseeing financial regulation, including handling and preventing market crises.
The treasury boss will also be in charge of America’s financial sanctions policy, oversee the US-led International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, and manage national security screenings of foreign investments in the U.S.
Bessent will be challenged with safely managing the federal deficits forecast to grow by nearly $8 trillion over the next decade. Trump plans to extend the expiring tax cuts while adding more generous tax breaks, such as ending taxes on income from social security, tips, and overtime.
He would also inherit current treasury secretary Janet Yellen’s role of providing economic support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, which given Trump’s intention to end the war will lead to the U.S. withdrawing its financial support.
Bessent Hails The Crypto Market, Indicating Friendlier Policies Are on Its Way
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are now under his sights. Fox Business host Eleanor Terret called Bessent a very “pro-crypto” appointee and during an interview with the channel in July, the Treasury secretary-elect said that he has been excited about Trump’s “embrace of crypto”.
He also highlighted that the crypto economy would bring in more young investors and those who have not participated before to the capital markets, cultivating a market culture where investors can believe in a system that “works for them”.
Polymarket bets showed an 88% probability of Bessent becoming the Treasury Secretary under Trump. Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick was also a leading candidate for the role, but he was ultimately picked by the President-elect as Commerce Secretary. Lutnick is also an advocate for cryptocurrencies and has had a hand in helping stablecoin issuer Tether manage its giant stockpile of the U.S. Treasuries that have been backing its USDT coin since 2021.
