Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, previously announced the establishment of the position of White House AI Encryption Tsar, which is specifically responsible for AI and cryptocurrency-related policies and coordinating the application of federal policies and government in emerging technology fields. On December 5th, Trump announced through his own social platform, Truth Social, that he has appointed David Sacks, a well-known venture capitalist and former member of the “PayPal Mafia”, to take on this important role.
In his post, Trump stated, “Sacks will develop AI and cryptocurrency-related policies for this administration, which is a crucial area to ensure America’s future competitiveness.” Trump emphasized that the United States needs to establish a strong position in these two areas to lead the world, and Sacks will be an important driver in achieving this goal.
In addition to serving as the White House AI Encryption Tsar, Sacks will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, demonstrating the Trump team’s emphasis on the development of emerging technologies.
Sacks, who has a strong background, was previously a key supporter of Trump’s Silicon Valley fundraising activities and has a close working relationship with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. Sacks was a member of the “PayPal Mafia” and is one of the well-known venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. His venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, has previously invested in well-known companies such as Airbnb, SpaceX, and Coinbase. Sacks is not only a long-time supporter of Trump but also organized a fundraising event in San Francisco in June of last year to attract funds from the technology industry and help Trump gain attention in the tech community.
Trump has expressed his support for cryptocurrencies multiple times during his campaign, emphasizing the need for clear regulatory frameworks to promote industry development. This contradicts his previous stance in his first term, where he criticized cryptocurrencies as “unstable and vague in value.”
One of the key points of appointing Sacks is to assist in formulating a “clear legal framework” to make the cryptocurrency industry “more competitive” in the United States. In the future, Sacks will communicate and coordinate between the White House, Congress, and relevant regulatory agencies, including working with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Sacks may collaborate with Elon Musk to promote AI technological innovation and application. Musk, a significant supporter of Trump, has his AI company xAI and chatbot Grok, which have already established a presence in the AI industry competition. Trump’s cabinet members believe that Musk’s innovative technologies in the AI field will complement Sacks’ policy planning and pave the way for AI development in the United States.
Like Musk, Sacks will enter the Trump team as a “special government employee” and can serve for a maximum of 130 days per year without reporting or selling personal assets. However, he must avoid conflicts of interest in related issues involving his own interests.
Sacks previously expressed optimism about the 0x protocol ($ZRX) in 2018 on Twitter. He pointed out that with an increasing number of tokens, relying solely on centralized exchanges is no longer sufficient to meet the demand for finding counterparties, and there is a need for dedicated protocols to address this issue.
Sam Altman, the co-founder of OpenAI, congratulated Sacks on this news on Twitter. Meanwhile, when Trump was appointed as the White House AI Encryption Tsar, the 0x protocol token ($ZRX), which he previously supported, also experienced a 34% surge in a short period.
Overall, the appointment of David Sacks as the first White House AI Encryption Tsar signifies the Trump administration’s focus on AI and cryptocurrency-related policies and their commitment to fostering competitiveness in these areas in the United States.