BREAKING: Trump’s Crypto & AI Czar David Sacks Steps Down After 130 Days - Tech Titans Take Over
David Sacks, the venture capitalist who served as the Trump administration's leading voice on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence policy, has abruptly concluded his tenure after just 130 days. His departure marks a significant shift as a powerhouse consortium of 13 tech CEOs—including Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and AMD's Lisa Su—is now positioned to directly shape the future of U.S. technology and digital asset regulation.
Sacks Takes On New Advisory Post
Sacks has been named co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, known as PCAST, a body that will issue formal recommendations to federal regulators across a range of tech industries.
His 130-day run as the White House’s crypto and AI czar has ended, but he isn’t walking away from policy work. According to reports, a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump said Sacks “will always be his crypto and AI czar” while the new role gives him a wider scope.
Other PCAST members include Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz. The only member with a background rooted in crypto is Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase and crypto investment firm Paradigm.
The council’s makeup leans heavily toward AI and enterprise technology. That signals where the group’s attention is likely to land.
A Patchwork Problem At The Center Of PCAST’s Work
One of the first issues Sacks has flagged is the absence of a unified national approach to AI regulation. Speaking to Bloomberg, he pointed to a growing conflict between state-level rules. “You’ve got 50 different states regulating this in 50 different ways,” he said, calling it a compliance burden for companies trying to build and grow. Trump, he added, wants a single national framework — one rulebook that applies across all states.
Getting there won’t be simple. Federal efforts to override state technology laws have historically drawn resistance from both political parties, and AI regulation has become an increasingly charged topic across the country.
During his time as czar, Sacks led the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, which produced a 166-page report laying out how crypto markets should be regulated.
He also contributed to a national AI framework released on March 20, designed to support innovation in the workplace while protecting children and intellectual property.
Reports indicate he played a hand in advancing the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin-focused bill, and continues to back the CLARITY Act, a broader crypto market structure bill still working its way through Congress.
Sacks told Bloomberg that members of PCAST will study issues together before sending recommendations to regulators — a more deliberate, committee-style approach compared to his previous role, which was largely defined by direct access to the president and fast-moving policy decisions.
Featured image from The Information, chart from TradingView
