"Crypto Tsar" steps down: 130 days of political performance come to an end, how much of Trump's crypto promise remains?

Author: Golem, Odaily Planet Daily

"The Crypto Czar" David Sacks is leaving. David Sacks explained that he is stepping down from his position because he has reached the 130-day limit for special government employees. In the future, he will continue to participate in relevant government affairs as the co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

On December 6, 2024, Trump announced the appointment of David Sacks as the head of White House affairs related to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. Because Trump directly referred to him as the "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar," David Sacks earned the title of "Crypto Czar." This is not an official title, but rather a role that allows David Sacks to formalize his influence. In his appointment letter, Trump specifically expressed his expectations for David Sacks in the crypto field: "to promote the establishment of a clear legal framework that provides the long-needed clarity for the cryptocurrency industry, allowing it to thrive in the United States."

From a motivational perspective, in 2024, Trump made numerous crypto commitments to gain the support of the U.S. crypto community, so after successfully taking office as president, he needed a capable person to help him fulfill these commitments, and David Sacks was chosen as the policy executor.

David Sacks indeed did not disappoint Trump's expectations, achieving some political accomplishments during his 130-day term: banning CBDCs, holding the first White House crypto summit, establishing the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, and facilitating the passage of the CLARITY Act.

David Sacks essentially fulfilled most of the promises Trump made during his campaign regarding the crypto industry, so many people are willing to write his term as a narrative of victory. On the surface, it appears this way, but a closer look at what David Sacks has done for the crypto industry reveals a characteristic—political statements are abundant, but the sense of gain in the crypto industry is quite thin.

During these 130 days, David Sacks was not reshaping the crypto industry; he was merely completing a political performance for Trump.

I. White House Crypto Summit = Trump’s Bragging Session

The highlight of this performance was the White House crypto summit, which appeared to be full of sincerity but was actually just flattery and slogans throughout.

On March 7, 2025, David Sacks invited a number of crypto companies and industry figures to the White House on behalf of Trump, including a16z partner Chris Dixon, Ripple CEO, Robinhood CEO, Strategy founder Michael Saylor, Coinbase CEO, and several U.S. government officials, including Trump and the Secretary of the Treasury.

Crypto figures entering Washington is not a new occurrence, but previously it was mostly to testify, face criticism, or explain whether they were scams. This time was different; the setting changed from the hearing room to the White House, and the atmosphere shifted from tense to one of dignified group photos. For the first time, crypto figures were treated as "honored guests" by the U.S. government, with David Sacks sitting next to Trump like a director responsible for the script.

At the White House crypto summit, David Sacks sits to the left of Trump

What was said at such a high-profile and highly anticipated government crypto meeting?

A reporter from Odaily Planet Daily, who monitored the live broadcast that evening, recorded that everyone was flattering Trump throughout the event, which was claimed to define the regulatory direction for crypto over the next four years. However, no substantive policy documents were released during the entire event. Due to the significant discrepancy between the meeting's content and market expectations, the crypto market immediately dropped after the summit ended, according to OKX market data.

This summit certainly had symbolic significance, but the problem is that it only had symbolic significance. It showcased Trump’s support for crypto once again, but the industry’s most desired outcomes, such as unified, stable, and predictable regulatory boundaries, long-term rules that allow institutions to enter with confidence, and the avoidance of daily guessing about what the SEC and CFTC would change next, were still not genuinely achieved. The meeting was lively, emotions were high, but in the end, the industry was left with just the news.

If you ask why this meeting felt so hollow, it’s because the meeting itself was not planned in advance. Trump’s original campaign promise was to establish a cryptocurrency committee, allowing crypto industry leaders to have direct and ongoing dialogue with the White House and the president, but this did not materialize for various reasons. Thus, a crypto summit was hastily arranged as compensation, with claims that it would continue to be held in the future, but to date, the White House has not held a second summit of the same level.

II. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve = Just Moving Bitcoin to Another Drawer

The second major initiative pushed by David Sacks, the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, is not a performance but rather a magic trick.

Just hours before the White House crypto summit, Trump signed an executive order to establish the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, but after the news broke, the price of Bitcoin still fell. The core reason is that David Sacks explained that this Bitcoin strategic reserve comes from Bitcoin seized by the U.S. government during previous criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, rather than newly purchased Bitcoin, meaning not a single taxpayer dollar was spent.

Although the Treasury and Commerce Departments were authorized in the order to study a "budget-neutral" strategy for new Bitcoin purchases, no clear timeline or scale for buying was provided. Therefore, the message this Bitcoin strategic reserve sent to the market was that I will not sell Bitcoin anymore, but I will not buy Bitcoin either.

Trump signs the executive order for the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve

Did David Sacks handle this well? Of course, it looks good for Trump, as he fulfilled his promise without spending a dime. But for the crypto industry, it only has symbolic significance; the market originally expected the U.S. government to increase its holdings of Bitcoin, injecting liquidity and backing into the market, but what they got was "just moving the previously seized Bitcoin to another drawer."

III. The GENIUS Act is the True Achievement

The GENIUS Act may be David Sacks' true achievement as the Crypto Czar.

On July 18, 2025, Trump officially signed the GENIUS Act in the East Room of the White House, making it a law. It not only has symbolic significance but also practical significance. From an industry impact perspective, the GENIUS Act established a federal framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins, meaning stablecoins have moved out of the phase of reckless growth and into compliance, becoming a new financial instrument backed by federal law.

This was not accomplished solely by David Sacks, but he certainly played a role. However, there is another bill, the twin brother of the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, which is still struggling to pass. The CLARITY Act was passed by U.S. Congress members on July 18, 2025, along with the GENIUS Act, but to this day it has not completed the Senate process and remains stuck in negotiations between the banking industry and the crypto industry.

Trump signs the GENIUS Act

David Sacks had confidently stated that the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act would be passed within the first 100 days of this administration. As it stands now, he has been thoroughly proven wrong.

The failure of the CLARITY Act to pass is not solely due to David Sacks, but he certainly bears some responsibility, just as he can take some credit for the passage of the GENIUS Act. The White House Digital Asset Working Group, led by David Sacks, explicitly referred to the CLARITY Act as an "excellent foundation." Since the White House has already regarded it as the core draft for market structure legislation, can David Sacks remain a completely unrelated bystander if it gets stuck later?

The core deadlock of the bill centers on the conflict between the banking industry and the crypto industry over interest-bearing stablecoins, and according to the latest revised text, the banks have emerged victorious. Following this news, on March 25, Circle (CRCL) shares fell by as much as 18%, and Coinbase (COIN) dropped by about 8%. Moreover, if such a CLARITY Act were to pass, it would be a blow to the entire DeFi sector.

This is quite different from the favorable narrative for the crypto industry that Trump and David Sacks had been promoting; a bill that claims to promote the development of the crypto industry ultimately benefits the banks, not the crypto industry, which is truly ironic.

On March 4, Trump, amidst his busy schedule, still took the time to mention the crypto industry, stating on Truth Social that the U.S. must pass the CLARITY Act as soon as possible, and Americans should let their funds earn higher returns. It seems Trump is still concerned about the crypto industry, but it wasn't until the latest revised text of the bill was released on March 24 that we realized it was yet another "symbolic statement."

Now, the "crypto president" Trump has completely gone silent. As for David Sacks, the White House had long prepared a script for him, as the Crypto Czar, standing on stage to translate Trump’s campaign slogan of "making America the global crypto capital" into a few decent political actions. Now that the performance is nearly over, it’s time to retreat. David Sacks, now serving as the co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, has stated that he will continue to work on artificial intelligence policy and technology strategy, without even mentioning crypto.

The former Crypto Czar has disappeared, and Trump’s ambiguous relationship with cryptocurrency has also come to an end.