U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent faced tough questioning in Congress during a heated House Financial Services Committee hearing that mixed politics, crypto, and financial oversight. Lawmakers focused on both a Trump-linked crypto venture and the government’s role in Bitcoin.
Democrats pressed Bessent over World Liberty Financial, a crypto and DeFi project linked to former President Donald Trump. Concerns intensified following reports that a UAE-backed investment vehicle quietly acquired a large stake in the firm shortly before President Trump’s inauguration.
As the project now seeks a U.S. bank charter, calls for closer scrutiny regarding potential conflicts of interest have mounted. During the hearing, Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent noted that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) operates independently; however, his refusal to commit to an investigation led to sharp exchanges.
The discussion then turned to bitcoin. Lawmakers asked whether the Treasury could step in to support or “bail out” bitcoin under Trump’s earlier order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve. Bessent firmly said he has no authority to order banks to buy bitcoin or use taxpayer money for crypto. He also denied any active government push to launch a U.S. central bank digital currency.
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