David Sacks, who served as the White House’s crypto and artificial intelligence czar under President Donald Trump, has announced a change in his official role. He is stepping away from the czar position and joining the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) as co-chair. Sacks made the announcement on Thursday via a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The transition marks a shift in how he will formally advise the administration on technology policy.
Sacks was originally appointed to the czar role before Trump returned to office in January of last year. In that capacity, he oversaw several early White House efforts on cryptocurrency, including work related to the passage of the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act and ongoing efforts around a crypto market structure bill. His departure from the czar title is tied to a legal constraint rather than a policy disagreement. As a special government employee, Sacks was legally permitted to serve in that designation for no more than 130 working days.
Democrats in Congress had already raised concerns in the fall that Sacks had exceeded this limit. By transitioning to the advisory council, he avoids the same legal restriction, as the co-chair role on PCAST does not carry the same day-count limitation. Sacks addressed the change in an interview with Bloomberg earlier on Thursday, explaining the legal basis for the move. He did not mention cryptocurrency during that interview.
In his post on X, Sacks described PCAST as the principal body of external advisors responsible for shaping science, technology, and innovation policy for the president and the White House. He noted that thirteen leaders in science and technology would join as the council’s initial members. The council is expected to make policy recommendations and conduct studies on a range of emerging fields. Sacks specifically cited artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and nuclear power as areas of focus.
Sacks indicated that the council intends to build on the president’s AI framework, which was released the previous week. He said activity around that framework would be a visible priority for the group, alongside other cutting-edge technology areas. Michael Kratsios, who has served in both of Trump’s administrations, will serve alongside Sacks as co-chair of the council. The combination of their experience is expected to shape the council’s early direction.
The roster of initial PCAST members includes several prominent figures from the technology and business world. Among them are Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Dell founder Michael Dell, early Coinbase backer Fred Ehrsam, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg. The breadth of the membership reflects the council’s stated focus on a wide range of technology sectors beyond any single industry.
Originally reported by CoinDesk.
