#DavidSacksStepsDownAsCryptoLead

David Sacks, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist who served as President Donald Trump's artificial intelligence and crypto czar since the beginning of Trump's second term, confirmed on Thursday, March 26, 2026, that his tenure as a special government employee has officially come to an end. Sacks made the announcement during an interview on Bloomberg Television, where he stated plainly that he had reached the natural conclusion of the 130-day limit that applies to special government employees under federal rules. The departure marks the close of one of the more prominent private-sector-to-government advisory arrangements seen in the current administration, and it is drawing both reflection on what was accomplished and attention to what remains unfinished.

Sacks was brought into the White House at the outset of Trump's second term with a mandate to serve as the administration's point person on two of the most consequential technology policy areas of this era: artificial intelligence and digital assets. He quickly became one of the most recognizable faces of the administration's technology agenda, frequently appearing in public, coordinating with lawmakers, and earning a reputation for having direct and consistent access to the president himself. He was present at several high-profile moments, including the White House Crypto Summit held in March 2025, where he served as a key figure in shaping the administration's public messaging on digital assets.

During his time in the role, Sacks presided over a significant loosening of Biden-era restrictions on AI chip shipments to China, a move that drew scrutiny from national security observers but was framed by the administration as part of a broader effort to reduce regulatory bottlenecks and maintain U.S. competitiveness in global technology markets. He was also a driving force behind the Trump administration's executive orders on artificial intelligence, including a December 2025 order that established a national framework for AI regulation and preempted state-level rules that had been proliferating across the country. That framework was publicly released just one week before Sacks announced his formal departure, making the timing feel like a deliberate conclusion to a chapter he wanted to see through to a defined milestone.

On the crypto side, Sacks played a central role in advancing the administration's digital asset agenda. He was involved in early discussions around establishing a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve, which was framed as part of a broader effort to position the United States as a global hub for the crypto industry. He also worked to push forward legislative efforts around market structure and stablecoin governance, two areas where the regulatory picture in the United States has remained contested for years. Despite his efforts, Sacks' departure leaves those major legislative priorities still unresolved, with Congress continuing to debate which agencies should oversee different parts of the digital asset market and how stablecoins should be regulated in a legally durable way.

Crucially, Sacks' exit from the formal czar role does not mean he is stepping away from policy influence entirely. In the same Bloomberg interview where he confirmed his departure, Sacks announced that President Trump has appointed him as co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, widely known as PCAST. Trump established PCAST through an executive order signed on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, with the stated goal of bringing together leading figures in science and technology to advise the president and strengthen American leadership across a range of emerging fields. The council's initial membership reads like a who's who of the global technology industry, with names including Marc Andreessen, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg confirmed as members.

Sacks himself described the PCAST role as an expansion rather than a retreat. Speaking to Bloomberg, he noted that as co-chair of the council, he would be able to make recommendations on not just artificial intelligence but on a broader range of technology topics, including advanced semiconductors, quantum computing, and nuclear power. He indicated that the council's near-term focus would remain on pushing the implementation of the national AI framework released last week, and that PCAST would be producing official recommendations, studies, and reports for the president. A senior adviser to the president confirmed to Fox Business that Sacks would continue serving in an AI and crypto advisory capacity while taking on this broader portfolio.

The White House has also signaled that it does not plan to appoint a new AI czar to fill the formal title Sacks is vacating. According to a source familiar with the matter cited by Axios, the administration views the PCAST structure as the appropriate vehicle for ongoing technology policy advice, with Sacks continuing to be the central figure in that conversation. This makes it clear that while the title changes, the access and the influence are expected to remain largely intact.

Not everyone has viewed Sacks' tenure without reservation. TechCrunch previously reported on the ethics waivers Sacks obtained to maintain financial stakes in AI and crypto companies while simultaneously shaping federal policy in both sectors. That arrangement drew sharp criticism from ethics experts and certain lawmakers who argued it created conflicts of interest at the intersection of government power and private financial gain. Sacks and his team at Craft Ventures, the venture capital firm he co-founded and where he remains a partner, did not respond to questions about those arrangements in reporting around the departure.

What this moment ultimately represents is the end of a formal chapter in one of the most unusual technology policy experiments the U.S. government has undertaken in recent memory. A veteran of PayPal and the broader PayPal Mafia network, a longtime podcast host on All-In, and a major figure in the venture capital world, David Sacks brought a distinctly Silicon Valley sensibility to Washington. He championed deregulation, moved quickly, and sought to establish the United States as the dominant global force in artificial intelligence and crypto before rivals, particularly China, could consolidate their positions. Whether the legislation and frameworks he helped set in motion will hold, evolve, or stall under Congressional pressure remains the central open question of his legacy in government.