Trump Crypto/AI Czar Pick Is Longtime Critic of Regulation

America’s incoming cryptocurrency/AI czar has a resume long on regulatory skepticism, short on industry expertise.

That’s according to a report Friday (Dec. 6) by Bloomberg News, looking into President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of David Sacks to help shape the administration’s artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto policies.

Sacks, the report said, doesn’t have deep ties to either industry or a lengthy history of investments into them. 

But for tech investors, Sacks brings something more important to the table: a technology-friendly attitude, and a long track record of doubts about government regulation, the report said.

“He will ensure the United States is at the cutting edge of innovation,” said Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures, who argued Sacks will keep the U.S. from falling behind China, and will protect “newly emerging tech from left-wing censorship and bias.”

Sacks, the report said, has made just a handful of crypto and AI bets, though he has invested in Elon Musk’s xAI. As the founder of venture capital firm Craft Ventures — and like Musk and Rabois, a member of the so-called “PayPal Mafia” — he has become one of the VC industry’s “loudest right-leaning voices,” Bloomberg wrote.

Both AI and crypto executives, the report added, see government intervention as a threat, with several crypto companies moving overseas to avoid regulatory oversight. 

“Crypto and AI are two of the United States’ most pressing strategic priorities right now, and David Sacks is one of the only people in the world that is uniquely qualified to lead in this pivotal role,” said Kyle Samani, a managing partner at Multicoin Capital, where Sacks is an investor. Sacks will be an “invaluable asset in shaping the nation’s future,” Samani added.

As noted here last month, Trump has said he would overturn President Joe Biden’s comprehensive AI executive order issued last year, arguing the rule hinders innovation.

Trump’s first term as president saw limited focus on AI, though he issued the first executive order dealing with the technology in 2019, requiring federal agencies to make AI research and development a priority. 

As the new administration’s AI czar, Sacks, may have to address the need for infrastructure to support the technology. 

“While foreign markets move quickly to build power systems for next-generation computing facilities, American utilities’ lengthy deployment timelines for new electrical capacity could redirect billions in tech investment abroad and reshape the global AI landscape,” PYMNTS wrote in November.