Crypto's winning week capped by David Sacks's ascension to Trump White House
12/07/2024 22:37
The appointment of David Sacks as Donald Trump’s new 'AI and crypto czar' capped a week of wins for the crypto world, putting an advocate for looser regulation of digital assets inside the White House.
The appointment of David Sacks as Donald Trump’s new "AI and crypto czar" capped a week of wins for the crypto world, putting an advocate for looser regulation of digital assets inside the White House.
Trump made the announcement late Thursday, saying in a social media post that Sacks would "work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S."
Sacks, a longtime Silicon Valley investor who is close to billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk, has made it clear what the cryptocurrency industry stands to receive with Trump in the White House.
"What the crypto industry has been asking for more than anything else is a clear legal framework to operate under," Sacks posted on X in July. “If Trump wins, the industry will get this, and more innovation will happen in the U.S.”
Crypto enthusiasts cheered the news. "It is a full vote of confidence from the administration," Metafide CEO Frank Speiser told Yahoo Finance, noting that “everybody I’ve talked to is super bullish" about the pick.
"Great pick," added Coinbase COO Emilie Choi on X. "David Sacks was in crypto early and has a nuanced understanding of the space. Time to build in the US!"
Sacks was the second Trump pick of the week that brought loud cheers from the industry.
The other was Paul Atkins, the nominee to run the Securities and Exchange Commission. For years, Atkins has made it clear he favors clearer regulations of cryptocurrencies that don’t stifle innovation or impose unnecessary oversight
He would, if confirmed, replace the outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who emerged as a major foe of the crypto world due to his crackdown on many of the industry’s largest players.
"With folks like David Sacks and Paul Atkins, the future of the digital asset ecosystem in the U.S. is brighter than ever," House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) wrote on X Friday.
Following Atkins's nomination, the price of bitcoin surged above $100,000 per coin. At the beginning of the year, the world's largest cryptocurrency traded at $42,265.
It is now up over 40% since the hours following Trump’s presidential election victory and has surged 140% so far this year.
"CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU'RE WELCOME!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday morning. "Together, we will Make America Great Again!"
The appointment of Sacks brings another ally of Musk close to Trump’s inner circle, showing the influence of the billionaire who runs Tesla (TSLA), contributed huge amounts of money to Trump’s campaign, and has been appointed to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
From 1999 to 2022, Sacks worked alongside Musk and Peter Thiel when Sacks was PayPal’s (PYPL) chief operating officer, making him a member of the so-called PayPal mafia.
Sacks is also the co-founder of venture capital firm Craft Ventures LLC, and through his firm has backed crypto firms Lightning Labs, BitGo, and Bitwise, as well as AI startups Horizon3.ai and Glue AI.
His firm has also backed Musk’s social media platform X, Palantir (PLTR), and Affirm (AFRM), which is run by another PayPal mafia member (Max Levchin).
Sacks was also a prominent backer of Trump during the 2024 campaign, holding a $12 million fundraiser for the then-candidate in San Francisco. He also used a popular podcast he co-hosts called "All In" to make his support widely known and also bring Trump himself on for an interview.
A number of other pro-crypto enthusiasts could land inside Trump’s White House, including Howard Lutnick as Commerce secretary and JD Vance, the crypto-owning vice president-elect and another ally of Sacks.
Sacks’s venture capital firm told the New York Times the AI and crypto czar position would not be full time, and Sacks wouldn’t leave his position atop his venture capital fund to take it on.
That leaves things unclear about whether Sacks or figures like Atkins at the SEC would be the primary drivers of things like crypto policy. Sacks will also lead the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
On the campaign trail this summer, the now-president-elect also pledged to appoint a crypto presidential advisory council comprised of people "who love your industry, not hate your industry" within 100 days.
David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas in finance. Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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