White House economic advisor was holding millions in Coinbase stock as Trump rewrote crypto rules

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Kevin Hassett's 2025 financial disclosure shows he retained vested Coinbase shares as the Trump administration rewrote cryptocurrency rules

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Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, held between $1 million and $5 million in vested Coinbase stock throughout 2025, according to a financial disclosure filed with the Office of Government Ethics. Hassett had served on Coinbase's academic and regulatory advisory council from March 2021 until January 2025, when he joined the Trump administration.

The White House said Kevin Hassett has recused himself from all cryptocurrency-related matters since taking office. "Since day one, Hassett has and continues to be in full compliance with all ethical requirements, including his recusal from all cryptocurrency-related matters," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told CNBC.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order just three days into his term establishing the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets inside the NEC; under that order, the group's ultimate policy recommendations were to flow to Trump by way of Hassett's office. Led by then-White House crypto advisor David Sacks, the working group ultimately put forward broad regulatory recommendations spanning digital-asset markets, banking, stablecoins, and taxation, according to CNBC. Robin Colwell, identified in the working group's final report as the NEC's representative and a deputy assistant to the president for national economic policy, was listed in that role rather than Kevin Hassett.

In a June 2025 appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Hassett explained his decision to hold the shares by saying he feared a sale would look like market timing, and he noted that ethics officials had weighed in while he worked out "what needs to be done." CNBC asked the White House whether Hassett continues to hold the shares and whether doing so has constrained his ability to act on issues that fall under the NEC's jurisdiction; the White House did not answer either question.

Virginia Canter, who serves as chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption at Democracy Defenders Fund, said the arrangement raises concerns about conflicts of interest. "I think he's got a major conflict of interest, or the appearance of one," she said. Canter, a former ethics attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission, argued that a sweeping crypto recusal would have pulled Kevin Hassett away from a core function of his position — bringing together economic policy among agencies such as the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department, the SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, each of which had a seat on the crypto working group.

The disclosure covers 2025 only and does not indicate whether Kevin Hassett still holds the Coinbase stock. The White House ethics office certified that Kevin Hassett is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

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