Key takeaways
- David Sacks has been named by Donald Trump as the White House AI and crypto czar.
- Sacks invested in Bitcoin early on and he will be involved in regulating the crypto industry following Trump’s nomination.
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President-elect Donald Trump has named David Sacks as his White House AI and crypto czar. Who is David Sacks and what is his position on Bitcoin and crypto?
Who is David Sacks?
David Sacks is a South African entrepreneur and investor recognized for his influential roles in the technology industry. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa, to a Jewish family and moved to the United States at the age of five, where his family put down roots in Tennessee.
Growing up, Sacks was inspired by his grandfather, who started a candy factory in the 1920s. Although he did not initially aspire to become an entrepreneur – preferring not to follow in his father’s footsteps as a endocrinologist – his family’s entrepreneurial heritage influenced his career path.
He attended Memphis University School before pursuing graduate studies at Stanford University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1994. He later earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Law School. Chicago in 1998.
In 1999, Sacks joined PayPal as its first product manager and later became the company’s chief operating officer. He played a key role in transforming PayPal into a global leader in online payments.
Following eBay’s acquisition of PayPal in late 2002, Sacks founded Yammer, a social networking platform for businesses acquired by Microsoft.
In 2017, he co-founded Craft Ventures. The venture capital firm has invested in many successful tech companies like SpaceX, Uber, Airbnb, BitGo, and Reddit, to name a few. As of November 2023, Craft Ventures’ assets under management reached $3.3 billion.
Aside from his accomplishments at Craft Ventures, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur is also known for co-hosting the “All-In” podcast alongside other prominent venture capitalists. The podcast covers various topics related to technology, politics and economics.
A close friend of Elon Musk
David Sacks and Elon Musk share a close relationship rooted in their involvement in the early development of PayPal. After leaving the company, both became successful entrepreneurs and continued to work together on various ventures.
They are part of the so-called “PayPal Mafia,” a network of influential tech entrepreneurs who worked together in the early 2000s and have since built successful tech companies.
The venture capitalist played a significant role in Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X). Sacks financed the $44 billion deal and served as a trusted advisor during the ownership transition, according to the New York Times.
Sacks is also known for his political contributions, including his support of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a pro-Bitcoin and anti-CBDC politician.
A Trump supporter
Sacks has positioned himself as a strong advocate for Trump’s return to the presidency. His view is that Trump’s policies are better suited to address the challenges facing the nation. By comparison, he believes the Biden administration has struggled to offer compelling alternatives.
The entrepreneur has been a vocal critic of the current administration’s policies, particularly on key issues such as the economy, foreign policy and border security. He believes that under the leadership of Donald Trump, America can regain prosperity, security and stability.
On December 5, Trump officially nominated Sacks as the White House AI and crypto czar.
It is expected to guide the administration’s policies on AI and cryptography, areas deemed critical to American competitiveness. The focus would be on creating a legal framework bringing clarity to the crypto sector.
Trump said Sacks would work to safeguard free speech online and help establish regulatory frameworks for the crypto industry.
And a Bitcoin investor
Sacks has long supported crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, seeing them as embodiments of the original vision behind PayPal: establishing a “database of money” where transactions remain within a secure digital ecosystem.
He observed Bitcoin’s evolution from a niche asset to a more mainstream investment opportunity and invested in the flagship crypto asset.
“I’ve been interested in Bitcoin since I think I first bought it in 2012. We expressed a thesis in 2017 and 2018 that we thought crypto would become an institutional asset class and really be more of a consumer retail phenomenon. “said Sacks during an interview with Anthony Pompliano.
“So we ended up investing in institutional custody through a company called BitGo and we also invested in Multicoin, a crypto-focused hedge fund,” he added. “We fundamentally believe that as crypto becomes an asset class, you will need specialist fund managers.”
Sacks believes that the transformational part of Bitcoin is its potential ability to function as a non-fiat currency.
Given the risks associated with government-controlled currencies, particularly regarding currency depreciation due to excessive money printing, he believes Bitcoin offers the possibility of a financial system independent of government control.
“There is a huge risk of currency depreciation when the government is in charge, and especially when you have the global reserve currency. The temptation is enormous to print money to finance your budget and accumulate loans that become unpayable,” the venture capital fund said.
“What Bitcoin offers is a different type of currency that is not backed by a government; it’s supported by mathematics; it is backed by encryption. You don’t have to trust the government. There will only be 21 million BTC. You just have to trust that Bitcoin won’t be hacked,” he said.
Although Sacks believes that Bitcoin makes the strongest case among crypto assets, he acknowledges other technological advancements that have emerged alongside it, such as blockchain technology and decentralized finance.
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