CNBC reports that during the period when Kevin Hasset, the director of the National Economic Council under the Trump administration, was promoting crypto policies at the White House, he still held a stake in Coinbase worth up to 5 million US dollars. This latest financial disclosure has once again raised questions about potential conflicts of interest, with the focus on whether he truly avoided any related policy matters and whether such avoidance affected his job performance.

Avoid arrangements that overlap with policy responsibilities

Shortly after taking office in January 2025, Trump established a President's Digital Assets Market Working Group within the National Economic Council. According to the executive order, the Director of the National Economic Council or their designated representative is a member of the working group, and any final recommendations must also be submitted to the President through that office.

Hassett served as an advisor for Coinbase from 2021 to January 2025. After joining the White House, he stated that he had recused himself from crypto-related matters and was waiting for ethical officials to handle his investment issues. In response to inquiries regarding CNBC, the White House stated that this recusal arrangement was still in effect.

However, it is not clear at present which meetings, discussions, and decisions are actually avoided in practice, as questioned by the outside world. In the final report of the working group, Robin Colwell, Hassett's deputy, represented the National Economic Commission, rather than Hassett himself.

Ethical experts question whether avoidance is sufficient

Virginia Kant, who once served as a White House ethics lawyer, stated that this shareholding constitutes a "significant conflict of interest" or at least presents an apparent appearance of such a conflict. She believes that if Hasset's avoidance of involvement in crypto-related matters is extensive, then he may be excluded from an important economic agenda of the Trump administration.

Kanter pointed out that the Digital Assets Working Group involves coordination among multiple departments, including the Treasury Department, the Department of Commerce, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). If the Director of the National Economic Council is unable to participate in related discussions, the issue is not merely about individual stock holdings; it also concerns whether they can still fully perform their cross-departmental economic coordination responsibilities.

Coinbase receives attention in tandem with policy advancement

The report mentioned that during Trump's second term in office, several adjustments to crypto policies were made, including reversing some policies from the Biden era, establishing a government Bitcoin reserve, and pushing for Congress to establish a broader federal regulatory framework. A working group led by David Sacks, the White House's head of crypto affairs, also proposed regulatory recommendations regarding the digital asset market, banks, stablecoins, and taxation.

Meanwhile, the policy influence of Coinbase in Washington continues to rise. More than a month after Trump took office, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) withdrew its enforcement lawsuit against Coinbase, and it is not allowed to file another lawsuit on the same charges. The case was initially brought in 2023, accusing Coinbase of operating an unregistered securities exchange and failing to properly register its margin trading business.

Coinbase continues to strongly support Fairshake and its affiliated political organizations during the 2024 electoral cycle, and has pledged to invest an additional $25 million before this year's mid-term elections to continue to push for new digital asset legislation to be passed by Congress. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has also met with Trump and senior White House officials on multiple occasions and has recently continued to seek Senate support for Clarity Act.

Overall, the core of this controversy is not just whether Hassett holds shares of Coinbase, but also whether the relevant avoidance arrangements are sufficient to separate policy-making from personal investments when the White House lists crypto policies as a key agenda item.