Trump taps ex-PayPal COO Sacks as crypto and AI czar

Editorial

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US President-elect Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to confirm Sachs will “guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness. David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas.”

Continues Trump: “He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship. He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the US.”

Part of the “PayPal Mafia” alongside fellow Trump backers Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, Sacks is a co-founder of VC outfit Craft Ventures and a crypto booster.

Having criticised Trump in the wake of the January 6 2021 States Capital attack, he has become one of the incoming president’s biggest Silicon Valley backers.

Earlier this week, Bitcoin surged past the $100,000 mark for the first time as retail and institutional investors betting on Trump introducing a more supportive regulatory regime for cryptocurrency. Since election day, the price of a single bitcoin has grown by about 45%, with other tokens similarly lifted by the rising tide.

Trump has also moved in the last few days to add fintech execs to his team, picking Shift4 chief Jared Isaacman as next head of Nasa and Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano to run social security.