New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Brings Cryptocurrency Holdings to the Pentagon's Top Post

New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brings cryptocurrency holdings to the Pentagon’s top post, with financial disclosures showing he owns between $5,000 and $15,000 in Bitcoin amid his broader support for digital assets.

New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is entering the Pentagon’s top post with cryptocurrency holdings, as financial disclosures show he owns an estimated $5,000 to $15,000 in Bitcoin.

The Fox News host and Army veteran has voiced support for digital assets in the past, and his Bitcoin holdings come amid broader enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies in the U.S.

After Bitcoin initially surged past $80,000 in November, Hegseth said on Fox News that former President Donald Trump helped the cryptocurrency by signaling to the market that it wouldn’t be overregulated.

“Look at Trump, making bitcoin great again,” Hegseth said at the time. “All it took was signaling to that market that they weren’t going to be overregulated. Trump embraced them.”

The Senate confirmed Hegseth as defense secretary Friday in a 50-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie to install him in the role.

The narrow victory came despite concerns about Hegseth's qualifications and personal conduct, and it marked only the second time a vice president has cast a deciding vote for a Cabinet nominee.

Financial records released Jan. 13 show that Hegseth earned over $5 million in the past two years, with the majority of his income coming from his Fox News hosting role and several speaking engagements.

In addition to his Bitcoin holdings, the documents show that Hegseth collected $4.6 million from Fox News and up to $1 million from a Baltimore rental property.

Hegseth has openly backed cryptocurrency, praising its independence from government control. During Coinbase Global's (COIN) COIN 2021 IPO, Hegseth called it the “tip of the iceberg” for digital currency adoption.

“Crypto has arrived. Bitcoin is not a person, it’s not a company, it’s not a place. It’s tougher to stop than you would think,” Hegseth said at the time, according to cryptocurrency publication The Block.

Hegseth takes control of the Pentagon as Bitcoin trades around $100,000, potentially reacting to shifting political winds. His dual role as both a Bitcoin investor and America’s new defense chief arrives as digital assets face less scrutiny from the federal government.

The position puts him among the highest-ranking U.S. officials to publicly hold cryptocurrency, though his Bitcoin stake represents a small portion of his multimillion-dollar portfolio.