US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks as “White House AI & Crypto Czar,” a newly-created role meant to establish the country as the global leader in both fields.
Members of the cryptosphere have gathered to congratulate their new czar, a Trump loyalist from Silicon Valley who has previously expressed enthusiasm for crypto technologies and invested in crypto startups. The appointment is being celebrated by crypto executives and policy wonks as “bullish” for the industry, which under the previous administration was bombarded with lawsuits by US regulators. On X, Gemini chief legal officer Tyler Meader wrote, “At long last, a rational conversation about crypto can be had.”
Others have speculated that the dual-faceted nature of the role, covering both AI and crypto, could set the tone for experimentation around potential synergies between the two disciplines. Among VCs, “[Sacks] was very early in noting the importance of crypto to AI,” says Caitlin Long, CEO at crypto-focused bank Custodia. In his announcement, Trump wrote that the two areas were “critical to the future of American competitiveness.”
“There is no better person than David Sacks to help steer the future of crypto and AI innovation in America,” says John Robert Reed, partner at crypto focused VC firm Multicoin Capital. “He's a principled entrepreneur and brilliant technologist that deeply understands each of these industries and where they intersect.
“Initial reactions from the crypto industry on [the] Sacks appointment has been positive. Given his purview as a venture capitalist, he’s seen a lot of the innovation in crypto and AI that has been stunted in growth due to various political or regulatory issues the past few years,” says Ron Hammond, director of government relations at the Blockchain Association. “What remains to be seen is how much power the czar role will even have and if it will be more a policy driver position vs a policy coordinator role.”
In an X post, Sacks expressed his gratitude to Trump. “I am honored and grateful for the trust you have placed in me. I look forward to advancing American competitiveness in these critical technologies,” he wrote. “Under your leadership, the future is bright.”
In his role as czar, Sacks will lead a council of science and technology advisors responsible for making policy recommendations, Trump says. He will also develop a legal framework that sets out clear rules for crypto businesses to follow—something the industry has long demanded. That will reportedly involve working closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), two regulatory agencies that vied for jurisdiction over the crypto industry under the Biden administration. Earlier this week, Trump appointed crypto advocate Paul Atkins as SEC chair; members of the crypto industry contributed to the selection process, sources told WIRED in November.
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