David Sacks Leaves White House Crypto Czar Role for PCAST Co-Chair Position

David Sacks is leaving his White House role as AI and crypto czar and will instead serve as co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAST. Trump appointed him to the czar role in December 2024, and the move ends his tenure as a special government employee, a status capped at 130 working days in a 12-month period.

Sacks Moves From White House Czar to Presidential Advisory Role

Sacks said on March 26 that he was joining PCAST as co-chair. He had served as the administration’s AI and crypto czar since Trump named him to the post before returning to office.

The change shifts him from a White House operating role into a formal presidential advisory body. PCAST advises the president on science, technology, and innovation policy across a broader set of issues than the czar post covered.

The 130-Day Limit Forced the Transition

Sacks said his czar role was structured as a special government employee position. Under federal rules, that status is limited to 130 working days during any 365-day period.

That limit does not apply in the same way to his new advisory post. Sacks will serve on PCAST after ending his special government employee appointment.

PCAST Expands Sacks’s Mandate Beyond AI and Crypto

In a recent X post, Sacks described PCAST as

“[…] the principal body of external advisors tasked with shaping science, technology, and innovation policy for the President and the White House.”

He also said the council’s initial membership would include 13 technology leaders. In separate remarks about the move, Sacks said the body would make recommendations and conduct studies on artificial intelligence, quantum computing, nuclear power, and other advanced technologies. Sacks did not mention crypto in that list.

New PCAST Roster Blends Big Tech Leaders with Crypto Representation

The White House said PCAST will be co-chaired by Sacks and Michael Kratsios. Its initial members include Marc Andreessen, Sergey Brin, Michael Dell, Fred Ehrsam, Jensen Huang, Lisa Su, and Mark Zuckerberg, among others.

That gives the council a strong technology-industry profile and keeps Sacks close to a group of senior founders, investors, and executives. Ehrsam’s inclusion also preserves a direct crypto link inside the panel.

Sacks Stays Influential but Shifts to an Advisory Role

The title change keeps Sacks inside the administration’s technology policy structure, but in an advisory role rather than a time-limited White House appointment.

For crypto policy, the immediate shift is structural rather than ideological. Sacks is leaving the czar title, but he remains positioned to influence broader technology policy from inside a presidential advisory body.