President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish the United States’ first sovereign wealth fund, a government-owned fund typically used for investments in foreign assets. This fund could potentially be used to acquire TikTok’s U.S. assets if the platform’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, decides to sell them. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that the fund will be operational within the next year.

Sovereign wealth funds are funded through various sources such as surplus reserves, trade surpluses, and government transfer payments. The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund is the Norway Government Pension Fund Global, holding over $1.7 trillion as of January 2025.

In the context of TikTok, President Trump’s recent executive order extends the ban on the platform, giving ByteDance more time to divest TikTok. This move follows concerns over national security, with suspicions that ByteDance may be sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government. Despite these allegations, TikTok has consistently denied any data-sharing activities.

TikTok faced a temporary blackout on Jan. 18, with the platform being removed from app stores, but was later reinstated after assurances from Trump. As of now, TikTok remains accessible for existing users but is not available for new downloads. President Trump’s sovereign wealth fund initiative introduces a new dimension to the ongoing TikTok saga, potentially reshaping the landscape of tech acquisitions in the U.S.