Trump’s pick of David Sacks as AI and crypto czar shows how cozy his White House will be with Silicon Valley

President-elect Donald Trump’s approach to crypto is becoming clearer with the appointment of entrepreneur David Sacks as Trump’s “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar”—signalling a shift in how the U.S. government perceives cryptocurrency that could indicate a more prominent place for it within the financial system.

“David Sacks’ appointment as Donald Trump’s crypto czar signals a potential turning point for the cryptocurrency industry,” says Kyle Bligen, director of financial policy at the Chamber of Progress, a tech industry trade group. Sacks’ history in tech could help the sector play a pivotal role in the new administration, while his stance on crypto helps bolster Trump’s view, expressed on the campaign, that he will be the first “crypto president.”

Trump posted on Truth Social, his own social network, that “David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas” of AI and crypto. Sacks will be working alongside Trump’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, whose years of experience as cochair of the Token Alliance, an industry-led initiative that represents crypto’s interests, points in a pro-crypto direction.

Sacks is a well-known name in the tech sector. Born in South Africa, he was an outspoken supporter of Trump during the election campaign this year, despite supporting neither candidate in the 2020 election. (In 2012, he donated to Republican Mitt Romney’s campaign, and in 2016 backed Hillary Clinton financially.) Indeed, in 2021, Sacks said that Trump’s incitement of the January 6 riots “disqualified himself from being a candidate at the national level again.”

Yet three years later, Sacks, a cohost of the All-In podcast, was all-in on Trump. In June, he held a $300,000 per person fundraiser for the now-president-elect at his Pacific Heights home alongside All-In cohost Chamath Palihapitiya. The event reportedly raised $12 million. The reason for Sacks’ full-throated support of Trump was perhaps less his love of the candidate, and more his disdain for Joe Biden, whom he said led a “disastrous presidency.” Sacks posted in May 2024: “Trump has a lot of supporters in Silicon Valley; many are just afraid to admit it.”

Sacks is closely connected to Peter Thiel, the PayPal cofounder. Sacks was himself chief operating officer of the payments company, before founding Yammer, a workplace communication tool bought by Microsoft in 2012. The $1.2 billion Yammer got from Microsoft helped Sacks fund Craft Ventures, a venture capital fund established in 2017, which has invested in companies including SpaceX and Reddit.

Not everyone is keen on his credentials, though. “Given the importance that the AI industry is going to have for the global economy in the coming years, it is excruciatingly worrying that a man of Sacks’ intellectual faculties and view of society is being put in charge of overseeing its development,” says Steven Buckley, a lecturer in digital media sociology at City, University of London.

The appointment of Sacks as crypto czar will help improve relations between Silicon Valley and the White House. It’ll also bolster crypto further, reckons the Chamber of Progress’ Bligen. “His background as a tech entrepreneur and outspoken supporter of decentralization suggests he understands the transformative potential of blockchain and digital assets,” he says. “This perspective could be valuable in crafting policies that promote innovation while protecting consumers.”

The appointment of Sacks, accompanied by Atkins’ role in the new administration in January, will help the country take a global lead in crypto, according to Bligen. “Clear rules of the road will help U.S. companies lead in the global digital economy while safeguarding financial stability and fostering economic inclusion,” he says.

Indeed, Sacks has long advocated for clearer rules. Just last month, he said on the All-In podcast: “The crypto industry basically wants a really clear line for knowing when they’re a commodity and they want commodities to be governed, like all other commodities, by the CFTC.”

Sacks’ role has been defined as focusing on AI and crypto, but his world view could help shape the Trump White House in other areas, too. In September 2022, Sacks wrote a story for The American Conservative that advocated for a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine to bring to an end the conflict between the two countries. He also appears to be not much of a fan of China, saying in a June 2022 interview with Megyn Kelly that the increasing use of fentanyl by the U.S. population was “payback” from China, and that Democratic lawmakers were “useful idiots for the Chinese Communist party.” He’s also retweeted comments this month suggesting the U.S. should pull out of Syria as the country’s government collapses.

All of which could make for an interesting time under the Trump administration. “Trump clearly equates wealth with being smart,” says Buckley. “So the hiring of another South African billionaire to his cabinet—already stacked with billionaires—is not a surprise.”