Trump appoints venture capitalist as AI and crypto 'czar'
US president-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to appoint venture capitalist David Sacks as the White House AI and crypto czar. He shared the news on his social media platform, Truth Social.
"Both areas are critical to America's future competitiveness," Trump said. Sacks, a close confidant of tech billionaire Elon Musk, will be responsible for solidifying the United States' position as a global leader in artificial intelligence and digital currencies.
Sacks will also take on the role of safeguarding free speech online. Trump: "He will protect free speech on the internet and keep us away from the bias and censorship of big tech companies."
Crypto markets
Furthermore, Sacks will oversee the creation of a legal framework for the cryptocurrency industry, aimed at providing "the clarity it wants and [allowing it to] thrive in the US." To advance these initiatives, he will chair the advisory committee for science and technology in Trump’s administration.
The announcement has sparked optimism in the cryptocurrency market. Since Trump’s election win on 5 November, Bitcoin's value has surged dramatically. The digital currency, which was trading at around 70,000 USD before the election, surpassed the 100,000 USD mark for the first time on Thursday evening, fuelled by investor confidence in potential crypto-friendly regulations.
Trump praised Sacks as a visionary with a proven track record in Silicon Valley. "David Sacks was an extremely successful entrepreneur and investor for 25 years, who built and financed some of the greatest corporate icons in Silicon Valley," Trump wrote.
Sacks’s credentials include serving as CEO during the early days of PayPal, now one of the world’s most prominent payment services. He later founded Yammer, a workplace social networking tool often described as a “Facebook for companies”. In 2012, Sacks sold Yammer to Microsoft for 1.2 billion USD, solidifying his reputation as a leading figure in tech innovation.
David Sacks © PHOTO ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP
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