Trump Seeks to Dominate 'AI and Cryptocurrency Supremacy'

Appointment of White House Policy 'Czar'

White House AI and Cryptocurrency Czar

'PayPal Mafia' David Sacks

Likely to Lead the President's Science and Technology Advisory Committee

Ambassador to China is a Former Businessman with a Cooperative Stance

Trump May Adopt a Dual Approach to China

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated David Sacks, founder of Craft Ventures and a member of the PayPal Mafia, as the 'AI and Cryptocurrency Czar' to oversee the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency in the next administration.

On the 5th (local time), Trump announced on social media, "Sacks has been a highly successful entrepreneur and investor in Silicon Valley for 25 years," adding that he possesses the knowledge, business experience, intelligence, and pragmatism to make America great in two key technology areas (AI and cryptocurrency). Trump also mentioned that Sacks would lead the President's Science and Technology Advisory Committee.

Kickstarting Cryptocurrency Policy

Following the nomination of former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins as SEC Chairman the previous day, the appointment of Sacks completes the cryptocurrency policy team. In July, Trump, as the keynote speaker at the 'Bitcoin 2024' event in Nashville, Tennessee, promised not only to ease cryptocurrency regulations but also not to sell any Bitcoin the government holds or will hold in the future.

Sacks, appointed today, is part of the PayPal Mafia, which includes Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Peter Thiel, founder of Palantir, who opened the dot-com era. They gradually became supporters of Trump, starting with Thiel's public endorsement of Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention (RNC). Musk, CEO, is actively engaging in real politics by co-leading the Government Efficiency Unit in this administration.

Like Musk, Sacks was born in South Africa. He began his career at McKinsey & Company, co-founded PayPal with Thiel and Musk, and served as COO from 1999 to 2002. After founding enterprise software company Yammer in 2008, he sold it to Microsoft for $1.2 billion. He is currently running venture capital firm Craft Ventures. He became more famous by running the popular podcast 'All-In' and frequently engaged in debates with the opposing camp online regarding his support for Trump.

The cryptocurrency community welcomed Sacks' appointment, but Bitcoin's price, which briefly hit $100,000 the previous day, slightly fell to the $97,000 range today.

David Perdue, a Moderate, Appointed as Ambassador to China

Trump has appointed former Georgia Senator David Perdue (2015-2021) as the next ambassador to China. Perdue has served as CEO of Reebok, Dollar General, and Philotex.

Perdue differs from the hardliners on China within Trump's second administration, such as Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio. During Trump's first administration, he conveyed a message of reconciliation to China, stating that "cooperation is our ultimate goal." In 2019, he wrote about the importance of reaching an agreement to prevent deteriorating relations with China and strongly supported moving American jobs to Asia to reduce manufacturing costs. Given his experience running companies like Dollar General, the American equivalent of Daiso, he is expected to have a high understanding of how tariffs on Chinese products can drive up consumer prices. This suggests that Trump's policy towards China may oscillate between hard and soft approaches.

Bloomberg reported, "Given the close relationship between Perdue and Trump, China now has a direct communication line to Trump through Perdue," adding that "Perdue's business background may be positive for China, recognizing the importance of the Chinese market." The nomination for ambassador to China requires Senate confirmation. Trump stated, "He will play a pivotal role in executing the strategy to build a productive working relationship with the Chinese leadership."

Trump has nominated Brandon Judd, chairman of the National Border Patrol Council, as ambassador to Chile.

Additionally, he has nominated Rodney Scott, former chief of the Border Patrol, as director of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Caleb Vitello, deputy director of ICE, as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Anthony Salisbury, special agent in charge (SAC) of Homeland Security Investigations in Miami, as deputy assistant to the White House National Security Council.

Washington = Correspondent Lee Sang-eun selee@hankyung.com