Top congressional Democrat is pushing back against President Donald Trump’s plan to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, calling it fiscally irresponsible and riddled with conflicts of interest.

On Thursday, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, the Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the department to halt all efforts to create the cryptocurrency reserve.

Connolly warned that the initiative primarily serves to enrich Trump and his financial backers rather than benefiting the American public. It would also constitute unsound fiscal policy by picking winners among currencies via social media and wasting taxpayer dollars.

Moreover, he also claimed that creating a strategic cryptocurrency reserve would enrich the President and his inner circle, harming American taxpayers.

The United States has historically, through acts of Congress, created reserves of certain commodities of strategic value, such as petroleum, particularly during times of economic crisis. However, no strategic need has arisen that would necessitate investment in the volatile and speculative cryptocurrency market,” he wrote.

Democrats Flags Trump’s Stake

Connolly’s letter raises concerns over Trump’s financial ties to the crypto industry, arguing that his business interests could influence federal policy in ways that serve him personally.

The lawmaker specifically pointed to Trump’s stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto-based financial services company that aims to function as a digital asset bank. Trump, who maintains a significant ownership position in the venture, stands to profit immensely if federal policy bolsters cryptocurrency values, he said.

Additionally, Connolly flagged Trump’s involvement in $TRUMP, a meme-based cryptocurrency that has generated substantial revenue through trading fees. Reports suggest Trump-linked entities have already raked in as much as $100m from the token, which critics have described as his “most lucrative get-rich scheme yet.

Meanwhile, Trump’s crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) czar, David Sacks, emphasized the plan will “not cost taxpayers a dime.”The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. Sacks wrote on X, “It will serve as a store of value. The Reserve acts like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold.”