David Sacks Exits White House Crypto Role After 130 Days
White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks departed his role after reaching the 130-day employment cap for special government employees. His exit leaves major crypto bills stalled in Congress, including market structure and stablecoin legislation that were initially projected to pass quickly.
Key Takeaway
Sacks' exit leaves crypto's regulatory clarity push without its White House champion.
David Sacks hit the 130-day limit for special government employees and stepped down from his role as White House AI and Crypto Czar, he told Bloomberg in an interview Thursday.
The departure leaves major crypto legislation unfinished. Sacks projected during his first 100 days that market structure and stablecoin bills would pass Congress quickly. Neither made it through. Congress is still debating the CLARITY Act, and a permanent White House crypto council never materialized despite early plans.
Sacks will stay on as co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He said the new position lets him make recommendations on a wider range of technology topics beyond just AI and crypto. The Trump administration did establish an internal digital assets working group and held periodic crypto summits instead of the permanent council initially pushed for.
Before taking the role, Sacks sold his personal crypto holdings to avoid conflicts of interest. He dismissed concerns about Trump's links to World Liberty Financial, a DeFi firm majority-owned by the president's sons. Sacks criticized the Biden administration's regulatory approach as too enforcement-focused and worked to position the U.S. as a global crypto hub through a strategic Bitcoin reserve using seized coins.
Efforts to build that digital asset stockpile are still in early discussions. The White House hosted its first cryptocurrency summit on March 7, 2025, with Sacks chairing and Trump delivering a speech to crypto founders, CEOs, and investors. The administration also signed the GENIUS Act as a stablecoin oversight milestone, but the broader legislative push has stalled.
This article was written based on reporting from Decrypt.
