Trump’s AI & Crypto Czar Pick Of A Musk Associate Spurs Retail Frenzy For Bitcoin-Tied Stocks

President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Silicon Valley investor David Sacks, a close associate of Elon Musk, as the White House’s policy chief for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, sparking a surge in retail chatter about Bitcoin-linked stocks on Stocktwits.

MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Marathon Holdings were among the top 15 most active stocks on Stocktwits before the opening bell on Friday. 

MicroStrategy and Marathon Holdings were also among the top 20 most watched stocks on the platform in pre-market trading, alongside Robinhood, the cryptocurrency exchange. 

President-elect Donald Trump's post on social media platform Truth Social announcing his pick for the AI & Crypto Czar | Source: TruthSocial/@realDonaldTrump

Sacks, an experienced but controversial tech executive, is expected to have an expansive hand in shaping the country's technology policy, given Trump’s rhetoric after winning the U.S. election in November. 

Market watchers also feel that it further cements Elon Musk and entrepreneur Peter Thiel's influence in the most important parts of government.

For context, Sacks was a co-founder of PayPal, where he worked with Musk and Thiel, and later invested in their companies SpaceX and Palantir.

Shares of Musk-owned Tesla, which also has 9,720 Bitcoin on its balance sheet valued at approximately $958 million, were up a little over 1% at market open on Friday. 

Sacks’ most recent claim to fame is co-hosting the "All In" podcast.

However, until Trump takes office in January, the position of AI and Crypto Czar does not officially exist, making it unclear exactly how the position will be structured within the government (or not) and what authority he'll have once January rolls around. 

Bank of America Corp.'s Michael Hartnett told Bloomberg that the recent rally in U.S. stocks and cryptocurrencies, which escalated after Trump’s victory, has left the asset classes looking frothy. 

Here’s how the retail sentiment around three largest corporate holders of Bitcoin shaped up after the news broke:

MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 6 as of 7:00 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits.

MicroStrategy’s shares were up nearly 2% at market open on Friday.

Retail sentiment around the stock dipped to ‘bearish’ (44/100) from ‘bullish’ a day ago, while message volumes remained in the ‘normal’ territory. 

While chatter on Stocktwits suggests retail investors are optimistic about a dedicated crypto position in the White House starting in January, some have raised concerns about the growing sales of the stock, fearing potential dilution from the company's aggressive fundraising strategy.

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin buying spree has earned more than $17 billion in unrealized profits, according to data from MSTR Tracker.

Data shows that the company has bought upward of $23 billion worth of Bitcoin since 2020 as part of founder Michael Saylor’s corporate treasury strategy, which is gaining traction among publicly traded companies.

MicroStrategy’s stock is up over 450% so far this year. 

MARA Holdings
 

MARA Holdings Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 6 as of 7:00 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits.

Shares of MARA Holdings jumped over 3% at market open on Friday, recovering from a 4.5% drop the previous day, following the completion of its $850 million offering of zero-coupon convertible senior notes aimed at generating funds to acquire more Bitcoin.

The Bitcoin miner has around 34,959 Bitcoin in its coffers valued at around $3.4 billion. 

However, retail sentiment around MARA Holdings dipped to ‘bearish’ (30/100) from ‘bullish’ a day ago after the company reportedly bought 1,423 Bitcoin, worth $139.5 million, in four transactions across Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, according to Lookonchain data. 

The stock is up 8% so far this year. 

Riot Platforms

Riot Platforms Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 6 as of 7:00 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits.

Shares of Riot Platforms surged over 5% at market open on Friday, after a 4.9% drop in the previous session but retail sentiment didn’t follow the market. 

Stocktwits data shows that sentiment around the Bitcoin miner dipped to ‘neutral’ (46/100) from ‘extremely bullish’ a day ago even though there was no significant change in message volumes. 

However, retail inventors following the stock don’t see Sacks’ appointment as a catalyst with no messages addressing the issue since the announcement, ahead of market open. 

Riot Platforms is the third largest corporate holder of Bitcoin at a balance of 11,425 BTC with an estimated value of $1.1 billion. 

The stock is down 20% so far this year. 

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