Finance

Trump's Quiet Scheme: How Public Lands Could Fuel His Sovereign Wealth Fund

President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a sovereign wealth fund (SWF), aiming to create one of the largest funds globally. To achieve this goal, the U.S. would need to raise trillions of dollars quickly. For comparison, Norway’s SWF is valued at $1.8 trillion. Sovereign wealth funds are typically funded through surplus trade revenue or natural resource development, but with the U.S. carrying around $36 trillion in debt, experts question how the necessary funds would be raised. The Trump administration appears to suggest that selling off public lands could be the solution. By liquidating federal lands, the government could convert national treasures into financial assets, sidestepping the need for surplus revenue and potentially making this an appealing option.

A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund sourced from government revenues, often stemming from natural resources, budget surpluses, or foreign reserves. The executive order tasks the secretaries of treasury and commerce with developing a plan to secure funding within 90 days. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that part of the plan would involve “monetizing” the nation’s assets. He described utilizing these assets to generate returns for the American people.

What does this mean? Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior, clarified that the U.S. parks, public lands, and natural resources—such as timber, fossil fuels, and minerals—are part of the nation's financial assets. During his confirmation hearing, Burgum suggested federal lands could be worth up to $200 trillion, arguing that the U.S. government, run like a business, should capitalize on these assets to benefit the public. Under Trump's proposal, the value of public lands would be based on their potential to contribute to an SWF, rather than their importance to local communities, hunters, fishermen, ranchers, or anyone who relies on natural resources, clean air, and water.

Increasing leases for natural resources may not suffice to fund the SWF. In 2024, leasing for oil, gas, timber, mining, and grazing generated less than $17 billion. With oil production at record highs, the oil and gas sector is unlikely to ramp up drilling any further. The only option to generate hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars may be to sell public lands directly to the highest bidders.

Selling public lands has been a long-time agenda for the anti-parks movement, and some Republicans in Congress and state governments have pushed to undermine federal land ownership. For instance, Utah’s governor challenged the constitutionality of federal land ownership, though the Supreme Court refused to hear the case in January 2025. The Republican platform also advocates for selling federal lands for housing development. Additionally, new rules in the U.S. House of Representatives allow the sale of public lands without considering their value to the public, making it easier for the Trump administration to transfer these lands to the Treasury and Commerce departments for potential profit.

The sale and privatization of public lands on this scale would strip Americans and local communities of access to nature and vital resources. Entrusting financiers and money managers with land management goes beyond a mere land grab; it undermines the democratic and meritocratic ideals that the country was founded upon. The fate of U.S. public lands—and the values they embody—will be determined by Congress and the public’s willingness to defend public ownership and its diverse uses, including conservation, recreation, and enjoyment.

TECH

Short Sellers Zero In on Shocking Tech Stocks

Financial markets are navigating a challenging period, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index largely trending downward. Poor growth indicators combined with persistent inflation continue to weigh on the markets as the week comes to a close.

Many of the key players in the tech sector, particularly the so-called Magnificent 7, have lost significant momentum, raising doubts about the stability of the U.S. economy.

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Tech giant Palantir Technologies (PLTR) recently saw a dip following reports that the Pentagon plans to cut the U.S. federal defense budget. Meanwhile, the recent selloff of AI chip stocks, triggered by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, may still be creating uncertainty for some investors.

Despite these turbulent conditions, experts remain largely positive about the major tech stocks, which are known for rebounding quickly. However, recent data reveals that short sellers are increasingly targeting some of the sector’s biggest names.

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CRYPTO

Crypto Heist Shocker: $1.5 Billion Stolen from Bybit Exchange

Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has fallen victim to a massive hack, with $1.5 billion in digital assets stolen, making it the largest crypto heist in history.

The breach targeted Bybit’s cold wallet, an offline storage system designed for added security. The stolen funds, mostly in ether, were quickly moved across various wallets and liquidated through different platforms.

"Please rest assured that all other cold wallets are secure," Bybit CEO Ben Zhou assured in a post on X. "All withdrawals are NORMAL."

Blockchain analytics firms such as Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence tracked the stolen assets as they were funneled through multiple accounts and rapidly offloaded. According to Elliptic, the theft dwarfs previous incidents in the sector, including the $611 million taken from Poly Network in 2021 and the $570 million in Binance's BNB token stolen in 2022.

Elliptic analysts later tied the hack to North Korea's Lazarus Group, a state-backed hacking group known for stealing billions from the cryptocurrency industry. The group has a reputation for exploiting security flaws to fund North Korea’s regime, often using sophisticated methods to launder the stolen funds.

“We’ve flagged the thief’s addresses in our software to prevent these funds from being cashed out through other exchanges,” said Tom Robinson, chief scientist at Elliptic.

The hack prompted a wave of withdrawals from Bybit as users feared potential insolvency. Zhou stated that outflows had since stabilized and reassured customers by announcing that Bybit had secured a bridge loan from undisclosed partners to cover any unrecoverable losses and ensure continued operations.

The Lazarus Group’s history with crypto exchanges dates back to 2017, when it infiltrated four South Korean exchanges and stole $200 million in bitcoin. As law enforcement agencies and crypto tracking firms work to trace the stolen funds, experts warn that large-scale thefts continue to be a significant risk in the industry.