"กษัตริย์แห่งการเข้ารหัส" ลงจากตำแหน่ง: การแสดงทางการเมือง 130 วันสิ้นสุดลง คำมั่นสัญญาด้านการเข้ารหัสลับของทรัมป์เหลืออยู่เท่าไร?

Original | Odaily (@OdailyChina)

Author｜Golem (@web3_golem)

"Crypto Czar" David Sacks is stepping down. David Sacks explained that he is leaving his position because he has reached the 130-day limit for a special government employee. 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 White House lead for AI and cryptocurrency affairs. Because Trump directly referred to him as the "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar," David Sacks earned the title "Crypto Czar." This is not an official title, but rather a role to formalize David Sacks' influence. In his appointment letter, Trump specifically expressed his expectations for David Sacks in the crypto field: "to advance a clear legal framework that provides the long-needed clarity for the cryptocurrency industry to thrive in the United States."

From a motivational perspective, in 2024, Trump made numerous crypto promises to gain support from the American crypto community. Therefore, after successfully becoming president, he needed a capable person to help him fulfill these promises. David Sacks was the policy executor chosen by Trump.

David Sacks did not disappoint Trump's expectations and achieved some political accomplishments during his 130-day tenure: banning CBDC, convening the first White House Crypto Summit, establishing the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, and facilitating the passage of the CLARITY Act, among others.

David Sacks essentially fulfilled most of the promises Trump made to the crypto industry during his campaign. Therefore, many are willing to write his tenure as a victory narrative. On the surface, this seems true. However, upon reviewing what David Sacks actually did for the crypto industry, there is a common characteristic—political gestures were abundant, but tangible gains for the crypto industry were scarce.

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

1. White House Crypto Summit = Trump Praise Session

The highlight of this performance was the White House Crypto Summit, which appeared full of sincerity but was actually filled with flattery and empty slogans.(Related reading: White House Crypto Summit: A Political Performance of Flattery and Slogans)

On March 7, 2025, on behalf of Trump, David Sacks invited a group of crypto companies and industry figures to the White House. Attendees included a16z partner Chris Dixon, Ripple CEO, Robinhood CEO, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor, Coinbase CEO, among others. Several U.S. government officials also spoke, including Trump and the Treasury Secretary.

Crypto figures going to Washington was not unprecedented, but previously, they mostly went for hearings, to be scolded, or to explain whether they were scams. This time was different. The setting changed from a hearing room to the White House, and the atmosphere shifted from tense confrontation to dignified photo opportunities. For the first time, crypto figures were treated as "honored guests" by the U.S. government. David Sacks sat next to Trump, like a director responsible for cueing the lines.

At the White House Crypto Summit, David Sacks sits to Trump's left.

What was discussed at such a high-level and highly anticipated government crypto meeting?

According to notes from an Odaily reporter who monitored the live stream that night, everyone spent the entire time praising Trump. The closed-door meeting, which was supposed to define the direction of crypto regulation for the next four years, did not release any substantive policy documents. Because the meeting content fell far short of market expectations, the crypto market immediately dropped after the summit ended, according to OKX market data that day.

This summit certainly had symbolic significance, but the problem is precisely that it was only symbolic. It performed Trump's alignment with crypto once again, but the things the industry most wants—such as unified, stable, predictable regulatory boundaries, long-term rules that allow institutions to enter with peace of mind, and project teams not having to guess what stance the SEC and CFTC will take tomorrow—still haven't been truly delivered. The meeting was lively, emotions were high, but what ultimately landed on the industry was just market sentiment.

Why was this meeting so hollow? Because it wasn't part of the original plan. During his campaign, Trump's original promise was to establish a cryptocurrency council, expecting crypto industry leaders to have direct, ongoing dialogue with the White House and the President. However, this didn't materialize for various reasons. So, a crypto summit was hastily arranged as compensation, with promises to hold it regularly. However, to date, the White House has not held a second crypto meeting of the same level.

2. Bitcoin Strategic Reserve = Moving Bitcoin to a Different Drawer

The second major thing David Sacks pushed for, the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, is not a performance if taken seriously, but rather a magic trick.

A few hours before the White House Crypto Summit began, Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve. However, after the news broke, the price of Bitcoin still fell. The core reason is that David Sacks explained that this strategic bitcoin reserve would come from bitcoins previously seized by the U.S. government in criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, not from newly purchased bitcoins, and would not spend a single taxpayer dollar.

Although the order authorized the Treasury and Commerce Departments to study "budget-neutral" strategies for acquiring additional bitcoins, it did not provide any clear timeline or scale for purchases. Therefore, the message this strategic bitcoin reserve sent to the market was: we will not sell bitcoin, but we will not buy more either.

Trump signs the executive order for the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.

Did David Sacks handle this well? For Trump, of course, it was brilliant—fulfilling a promise without spending a dime. But for the crypto industry, it was again only symbolic. The market originally expected the U.S. government to start buying bitcoin, injecting liquidity and providing endorsement. What they got instead was "moving previously seized bitcoin to a different drawer."

3. The GENIUS Act is the Real Achievement

The GENIUS Act might be the real achievement of David Sacks as Crypto Czar.

On July 18, 2025, Trump formally signed the GENIUS Act into law in the White House East Room. It holds not only symbolic but also practical significance. From an industry impact perspective, the GENIUS Act establishes a federal framework for dollar-denominated stablecoins, meaning stablecoins have moved out of the wild growth phase into a regulated scope, becoming a new financial instrument backed by the force of federal law.

This wasn't accomplished by David Sacks alone, but he certainly deserves credit. However, there is another bill, the twin of the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, which is still struggling. The CLARITY Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives alongside the GENIUS Act on July 18, 2025, but has yet to complete the Senate process, remaining stuck in a negotiation deadlock between the banking and crypto industries.

Trump signs the GENIUS Act.

David Sacks once confidently stated that both the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act would be passed within the first 100 days of this administration. Currently, it seems he has been proven wrong.

The failure of the CLARITY Act to pass isn't solely David Sacks' fault, but he certainly bears some responsibility, just as he can claim some credit for the passage of the GENIUS Act. The White House Digital Assets Working Group led by David Sacks explicitly called the CLARITY Act an "excellent foundation." Since the White House has already treated it as the core draft for market structure legislation, can David Sacks be a completely unrelated bystander when it gets stuck later?

The core deadlock of the bill centers on conflicts between the banking and crypto industries over interest-bearing stablecoins. According to the latest revised text, the banks have won. On this news, on March 25, Circle (CRCL) stock price fell by up to 18%, and Coinbase (COIN) fell by about 8%. Moreover, if such a CLARITY Act were to pass, it would be a blow to the entire DeFi sector. (Related reading: CLARITY Act Rewrites DeFi's Fate: Circle Eats the Meat, DeFi Tokens Bleed)

This is quite different from the script Trump and David Sacks originally touted as beneficial for the crypto industry. It's ironic that a bill purportedly promoting the crypto industry ultimately benefits banks, not the crypto industry.

On March 4, despite being busy, Trump still mentioned the crypto industry, posting on Truth Social saying that the U.S. must pass the CLARITY Act as soon as possible, and Americans should earn higher returns on their funds. It seemed Trump was still concerned about the crypto industry. However, it wasn't until the latest revised text of the bill was released on March 24 that we saw it was again a statement of "symbolic significance."

Now, the "Crypto President" Trump has completely gone silent. As for David Sacks, the White House had already written the script for him. As the Crypto Czar, his role was to stand in front of the stage and translate Trump's campaign slogan of "making America the crypto capital of the world" into a few decent political actions. Once the show was over, it was time to exit. Now, as Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, David Sacks stated that he will continue to work on AI policy and technology strategy in the future, not even mentioning crypto.

The former Crypto Czar is gone, and Trump's ambiguous relationship with cryptocurrency has also ended.