Trump appoints former PayPal executive David Sacks as AI and crypto advisor
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will appoint David Sacks, a former chief operating officer at PayPal, as his advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, marking a significant change in U.S. policy direction.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump stated, “He will establish a legal framework that the crypto sector has been seeking, enabling it to flourish in the United States.” Trump did not specify whether “czar” would be an official role.
Sacks, alongside other key officials in Trump’s upcoming administration, including the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is expected to redefine U.S. policy on digital currencies. A new advisory council on cryptocurrency is also in the works. Trump’s technology supporters generally advocate for a light regulatory touch on AI and cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, arguing that excessive rules could hinder innovation.
Elad Gil, an entrepreneur and investor in companies such as Airbnb and the crypto platform Coinbase, praised the decision to appoint Sacks, calling it a “strong move” in a post on X. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, also congratulated Sacks on X.
Steve Jang, founder of Kindred Ventures and a co-investor with Sacks in crypto and AI startups, commented to Reuters that while Sacks is likely to maintain limited regulation, he will not do so without some restrictions. Jang suggested that Sacks would focus on regulating the applications of AI in critical areas, rather than the development of AI models themselves. This differentiation was a significant issue for Silicon Valley investors who opposed an unsuccessful California bill aimed at regulating AI model development.
On Wednesday, Trump nominated Paul Atkins, a well-known Washington lawyer and crypto supporter, to head the SEC, which was well-received by the industry.
Once a critic of cryptocurrencies, Trump has embraced digital assets during his campaign, vowing to turn the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the planet” and proposed accumulating a national bitcoin reserve.
Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 for the first time on Wednesday night, a milestone recognized even by skeptics as a pivotal moment for digital assets, with investors betting on a supportive U.S. administration to solidify cryptocurrencies’ role in financial markets.
Matthew Dibb, the chief investment officer at cryptocurrency asset manager Astronaut Capital, expressed optimism about the announcement, stating, “David has actively engaged with crypto over the years, including holding coins like Solana. He seems to possess more technical and commercial acumen regarding crypto than many realize,” Dibb noted.
Originally from South Africa, Sacks, 52, is a co-founder of the venture capital firm Craft Ventures and is also known as an early leader at PayPal, a payment processing company acquired by eBay in 2002.
Sacks is often associated with the “PayPal Mafia,” a group of former PayPal employees and executives, including notable Trump supporters like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and head of the AI startup xAI, is known for his interest in cryptocurrencies and was appointed by Trump as a co-leader of the upcoming Department of Government Efficiency. The advisory board, aimed at improving government operations, is informally named DOGE, after a cryptocurrency.
Sacks also previously served as CEO of the software company Zenefits and was instrumental in founding Yammer, an enterprise social networking platform. He has been a proponent of cryptocurrencies, stating in a 2017 CNBC interview that he believed the rise of bitcoin was transforming the internet.
“We seem to be witnessing the birth of a new type of web. Some refer to it as the decentralized web or the internet of money,” he remarked.
Trump indicated that Sacks would also chair a White House advisory council focusing on science and technology.
