White House crypto czar talks Trump's support for industry, new legislation
David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar, explained Thursday why President Donald Trump has been so sympathetic to the digital asset industry.
Why it matters: The new administration's approach to the industry has been a complete 180 from that of the prior administration, and an evolution even from Trump's own first term.
Driving the news: "I think the President was subject to this unprecedented lawfare himself and so I think that when he hears these stories about founders being mistreated this way, I do think that it resonates on some level with him personally," Sacks explained in a recorded appearance e during an event organized by Coinbase, the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Sacks is referring to widespread reports that firms dealing in digital assets were losing banking services or had trouble securing those relationships.
Zoom in: This week, the two major pieces of legislation that Republicans and the White House have prioritized took major steps in Congress, with stablecoin legislation likely to see a vote in the Senate soon and legislation on regulation getting voted to the House floor from two different committees.
Meanwhile, the SEC has already begun work on new rules around securities registration specifically for digital assets.
"If we never had to worry about a future Gary Gensler at the SEC, I think that what [SEC Crypto Task Force Chair] Hester Peirce and [SEC Chair] Paul Atkins come up with would be fine, but the reality is that you just never know," Sacks said.
"I think the purpose of legislation is just to provide stability."
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