Trump Names David Sacks As Crypto and AI Czar

Trump continues to stack his team with pro-crypto officials.

On Dec. 5, Trump took to Truth Social to announce the appointment of David Sacks to the new role of “White House AI & Crypto Czar.”

”David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness,” Trump said. “David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas… He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.”

The new Crypto Czar role is expected to facilitate communication between the industry and the White House, Congress, and U.S. regulatory institutions. The Crypto Czar is also expected to lead the crypto advisory council that Trump has pledged to create. The council would comprise representatives from major U.S. web3 firms including exchanges and mining companies.

However, Sacks has indicated that his role within the White House is unlikely to stray beyond that of advisor, with Sacks noting that clauses within his contract with Craft Ventures, the venture capital firm he founded, would likely prevent him from taking on a full-time position during a recent of his All-In podcast.

Trump added that Sacks will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology.

Sacks’ crypto and tech investments

Sacks is a prominent Silicon Valley investor who has also thrown his weight behind numerous web3 projects.

Craft Ventures, the VC firm founded by Sacks in 2017, has invested in 10 companies operating within web3, including dYdX, Lightning Labs, Set Protocol, Fold, and River Financial, according to Rootdata.

Sacks rose to tech fame in 1999 when he joined Confinity, the company behind PayPal, as product leader, before serving as PayPal’s COO. In 2008, Sacks also founded Yammer, a business communications platform, which was bought out by Microsoft for $1.2 billion in 2012.

“The tsar is an advisory role and has the same government classification as ‘doge’, which does not require David to leave Craft,” Craft Ventures told Financial Times.

Sacks hosted a fundraising event for Trump in San Francisco during June.

Pro-crypto administration

The news comes after Trump announced Paul Atkins, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner and advisor to Reserve Protocol, as his preferred pick to head the SEC during Trump’s second term in office.

Trump is also reportedly eying pro-crypto candidates to head the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alongside bolstering the CFTC’s oversight of crypto — signaling that digital assets could be regulated as commodities rather than securities.

The moves follow what Coinbase describes as the election of the “most pro-crypto Congress ever.” Stand With Crypto, a web3 advocacy group supported by Coinbase, also estimated that nearly 300 crypto-friendly lawmakers will enter the House of Representatives and Senate in January.