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In a move that took many in the U.S. cryptocurrency industry by surprise, President-elect Donald Trump announced the appointment of Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur David Sacks as the first ever White House AI and crypto "czar."
Sacks, 52, is a billionaire tech executive, venture capitalist and podcaster who made his money developing a handful of successful tech companies, including PayPal and Yammer, a workplace social networking service he sold to Microsoft in 2012 for $1.2 billion. He is a close friend and ally of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a top adviser to the president-elect who has his ear on many matters including decision-making for key administration positions. He's also friendly with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and was an early investor in Vance's venture capital firm Narya Capital.
"In this important role, David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness," Trump said in an announcement posted on his Truth Social account Thursday night. "David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas."
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David Sacks, CEO of Zenefits, speaks during 2016 TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 13, 2016. (REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach / Reuters)
Among Sacks' responsibilities, according to Trump, will be helping to craft a legal framework for the $3 trillion cryptocurrency industry as well as leading the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a group dedicated to advising the White House on policy related to technology and innovation.
Previous reporting by FOX Business suggested the Trump transition team had been considering a White House role dedicated solely to the advancement of crypto policy, with a leading contender for the position being Chris Giancarlo, Trump's former CFTC chairman, also known as "Crypto Dad." However, the addition of AI into the mix broadened the scope of candidates being considered and Sacks has become a thought leader in the potential for AI to transform business and technology. Through his venture capital firm Craft Ventures, which he founded in 2017, Sacks invests in AI companies like xAI, and copy.ai.
The combination of both crypto and AI under one policymaking umbrella turned out to be a welcome surprise to many in the digital asset space as well as pro-crypto lawmakers who see the two industries complementing one another and advancing the U.S. technologically.
"What I love about the [Donald Trump] appointment of David Sacks is the White House implicit acknowledgment that Crypto and AI are the most strategic new tech areas for the United States and the world," said Jeremy Allaire, CEO of stablecoin company Circle.
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Brian Armstrong, co-founder and chief executive officer of Coinbase Inc., speaks during the Singapore Fintech Festival, in Singapore, on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. The conference runs through Nov. 4. Photographer: Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg via Getty Im
"David Sacks is a great pick!," said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in a post to his X account. "It's incredible to think what is possible with sharp, pro-tech, pro-business people in government."
Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer of crypto venture capitalist firm Variant, said the appointment signals the new administration wants to kickstart growth in two industries the U.S. has been seen to be outpaced by other countries with less-stringent regulatory policies.
"For those questioning if crypto and AI belong in the same policy portfolio, realize that the prime directive for the government to follow on both is this: Get out of the way," he said in a post on X. "Yes, the time will come for new laws and regulations, but first David Sacks can free builders to build."
While some in the crypto world fear Sacks "may not be crypto enough" for the role, the tech exec has been a vocal advocate of crypto and blockchain technology for several years. In a 2017 interview, he said that bitcoin is fulfilling the original vision PayPal had of creating a "new world currency," something that proponents of the world's largest digital asset see it becoming. Sacks has been a vocal critic of overregulation by the government as it pertains to crypto and AI on the popular "All In" podcast he co-hosts alongside Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg. He's also invested in a handful of crypto-related companies, including Bitwise and BitGo through Craft Ventures.
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Trump's appointment of Sacks underscores just how powerful the influence of the so-called "PayPal Mafia," a group of around 10 company founders that includes Musk, Sacks and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, is set to be in the new administration. Thiel, who went on to co-found data software company Palantir, is a friend and former boss of Trump's Vice-President elect JD Vance, and Thiel played a key role in Vance's appointment to the post. Musk, meanwhile, will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency council alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, where the two men plan to cut trillions of dollars’ worth of federal spending.
Both Sacks and Musk raised significant amounts of cash for Trump over the course of his campaign. Sacks raised at least $12 million for the president-elect during a fundraiser at his Silicon Valley residence in June, while Musk is estimated to have raised more than $100 million.