Author: Veronica Irwin Source: unchainedcrypto Translation: Shan Ouba, Golden Finance

For David in the crypto field The only word I can think of in response to Sacks' appointment as President-elect Donald Trump's White House chief of artificial intelligence and encryption is "confusion."

Last night, several sources I contacted asked for some time to collect their thoughts. Earlier on Thursday, sources even questioned whether such a role as "head of crypto affairs" would actually exist. As of this morning, sources who have spoken privately to Unchained have had mixed reactions. To be sure, Trump’s appointment of a head of crypto and artificial intelligence would be a bigger step toward supporting the industry than he is currently doing. But this is far from the dedicated “encryption advisory committee” that the industry had expected, and it is really surprising.

However, the response in public has begun to tend to be flattering.

David Sacks as head of AI and cryptography? Why the industry is surprised

Industry insiders who spoke to "Unchained" had expected the White House to establish a position or advisory committee dedicated to encryption matters.

Donald Trump announced Thursday night on Truth Social that investor and Podcast host David Sacks will serve as the White House director of artificial intelligence and encryption affairs, which shocked the industry. Previously, the industry was looking forward to a position specifically responsible for encryption matters. However, according to the announcement, Sacks will lead a presidential science and technology advisory committee, indicating that Trump has adjusted his plans to expand the crypto-focused advisory committee promised at the Bitcoin 2024 conference this summer to include other technology industry areas.

"David will shape the field of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, two areas that are critical to the future of American competitiveness," a statement from Truth Social reads road. “He will defend free speech online and steer us away from Big Tech’s bias and censorship. He will create a legal framework that gives the crypto industry the clarity it has long demanded so it can thrive in the United States. ”

Sources active in the encryption circle told "Unchained" that they were surprised by this, and many people even thought that Trump had not yet decided whether he would Establishing the position of head of encryption affairs, however, many people on social media viewed the news positively, viewing the combination of encryption and artificial intelligence as a major push for the encryption industry by Trump. p style="text-align: left;">Messari founder Ryan Selkis is at X (original Twitter) said: “Combining encryption with artificial intelligence, under the leadership of a top figure in the technology world, simply takes encryption to an incredible level. Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said in a statement: “David Sacks’ unparalleled record of success as an entrepreneur, investor and innovator makes him the best person to lead U.S. crypto at a critical moment in the industry’s development. Candidate. ”

From PayPal Mafia to Crypto Supporter

David Sacks is the co-founder of early-stage venture capital firm Craft Ventures and was the head of Confinity (later PayPal) Early employee. With his forward-thinking work in fintech, Sacks has become a prominent voice in Silicon Valley and has become close to other members of PayPal's founding team, such as serial entrepreneur Elon Musk and venture capitalist Peter Thiel. , Sacks’ take on the tech industry The thinking has had a profound impact, while also gaining prominence in wider right-wing circles

Sacks has further expanded by co-hosting the "All-In" podcast. his own public image. In this podcast, he discusses various technology, social and topics with fellow Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg. According to Chartable, "All-In" is Apple. The 226th overall podcast on Podcasts and the third most popular technology podcast, demonstrating its broad influence in the technology industry, Trump has recruited many technology investors and companies around him during the campaign. Home.

On the podcast, Sacks often defends the views of Donald Trump and the Republican Party, and generally supports Canada.Cryptocurrency. For example, Sacks has called the hybrid court ruling on XRP — which said XRP is not considered a security when sold on a public exchange but is considered a security when sold to institutional investors — a win for the entire crypto industry .

Sacks is known as the "Solana bull". He invested in the early Solana investment institution Multicoin Capital as early as 2018, and in 2023's "All-In" He stated in the podcast that he did not sell SOL after the collapse of FTX. His firm, Craft Ventures, has also invested in crypto companies BitGo and Bitwise. However, Sacks is not widely known as a crypto-focused investor or entrepreneur, nor is he actively involved in crypto circles or crypto conference events.

Mixed reaction from the crypto industry

As of Thursday morning, crypto sources who spoke to Unchained believed that an announcement of a crypto chief or advisory board was not yet on the horizon. It will take weeks and there is skepticism over whether those roles will exist and whether they will be official White House positions or merely symbolic.

In the past few weeks, they have believed that the candidates may be some of the crypto industry leaders who have met with Trump at crypto and technology roundtables in the past few months. Donor. Potential crypto heads or advisory board members mentioned include Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong or executives from Bitcoin mining companies such as Riot Platforms.

The general understanding is that both the person in charge and the advisory board will focus on the encryption field. So it was surprising that Trump combined encryption with other technology topics like artificial intelligence in his announcement.

"Fox Business" once reported that former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Chris Giancarlo (industry nickname "Father of Crypto") is the head of crypto affairs One of the final candidates for the position. However, some sources speaking to Unchained have expressed doubts that Giancarlo is truly a contender, suggesting that the widespread rumors may simply be the product of his own efforts to secure the position.

In addition, two sources mentioned to Unchained after the election that Ron Hammond, director of relations for the Blockchain Association, was also a potential candidate, but he has not been considered a serious candidate since then. It's unclear whether the Trump-Vance transition team has officially looked at other candidates besides Sacks

But could Sacks focus on crypto?

"Unchained" It was first reported that the White House was considering creating a position dedicated to encryption, but Complicating the process is an Office of Ethics (OGE) rule that is essentially a "legal advisory" ruling that, while not itself a law passed by Congress, has legal effect on official workers. p>

Sacks' appointment raises questions about whether the position might be a nonadvisory role (and thus exempt from the rule), whether Trump plans to modify it in some way or The question of whether the rule will be bypassed, or whether a new OGE director will be appointed to change the rule. A Ventures spokesperson told Axios that the role is "advisory in nature," similar to how the ethics office operates, and does not require Sacks to leave Craft Ventures.

Digital Chamber leadership previously sent a letter to OGE Acting Director Shelley Finlayson requesting reconsideration of the rule, but did not immediately respond to a request for comment, telling Unchained that a response had not been received as of November 21.

Spokespeople for the Trump-Vance transition team and Craft Ventures did not immediately respond to requests for comment.