Author: Weilin, PANews
On December 23, President-elect Trump announced that Bo Hines will serve as the Executive Director of the newly established President's Digital Asset Advisory Committee (referred to as the 'Crypto Committee'). Compared to other nominees, 29-year-old Bo Hines is a political and crypto newcomer who has not publicly stated his position on cryptocurrency. Before entering politics, he was a college football player and ran for a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives in both 2022 and 2024. Although he lost to a Democrat in 2022, he received Trump's endorsement in the election, possibly establishing a connection with Trump.
In addition, the specific structure and personnel of the Crypto Advisory Committee are still being planned. According to Bloomberg, various decisions regarding the structure of the Crypto Advisory Committee will be made in the coming weeks. Currently, there are two proposals, large and small scale, and the final list of members is expected to be announced in January.
Previously supported by Trump to run for state legislator, a crypto and political newcomer has become the Executive Director of the Crypto Committee.
Trump announced this appointment in a statement on Truth Social. 'Bo Hines will serve as the Executive Director of the President's Digital Asset Advisory Committee (the 'Crypto Committee'). This committee is a new advisory group made up of prominent figures in the crypto industry, chaired by our 'Crypto Czar' David Sacks. Bo graduated from Yale University and Wake Forest University School of Law,' he said.
In this position, Bo Hines will 'work with David Sacks to drive innovation and growth in the digital asset space while ensuring industry leaders have the resources needed for success.' Trump stated, 'They will work together to create an environment where this industry can thrive and continue to be a cornerstone of our nation's technological advancement.'
Previously, PANews had published an article introducing 'Crypto Czar' David Sacks (see related reading: The Diverse Background of White House Crypto Chief David Sacks: Silicon Valley Investor, Musk Insider, Vance Benefactor), while 29-year-old Bo Hines is comparatively a political novice with less experience. Some analysts believe that Trump's move may be aimed at attracting younger crypto users.
Looking back on Bo Hines's political experience, in January 2021, he announced his candidacy as a Republican for the House seat in North Carolina's 5th Congressional District. In February 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the congressional district map in North Carolina was unconstitutional. After the congressional district map in North Carolina was overturned, Hines decided to run in the newly drawn 13th Congressional District, but controversy arose due to issues such as not residing in the district. On March 14, 2022, he received support from former President Trump, who referred to Hines as a 'fighter for conservative values.'
On May 17, 2022, Bo Hines defeated seven opponents in the Republican primary, receiving 32% of the votes and winning by a nearly double-digit margin over his closest challenger. However, Hines narrowly lost to Democratic State Senator Wiley Nickel in the general election. With Nickel's victory in the 13th District and another Democratic victory in the newly established 14th District (created due to population growth), North Carolina Democrats flipped one seat and gained another, resulting in a 7-7 tie in congressional representation for the state. Nevertheless, Bo Hines may have established a connection with Trump as a result.
In May 2022, Business Insider reported that Bo Hines primarily raised campaign funds through PACs. Campaign finance disclosures showed that only 28% of Hines's campaign funds were self-raised, with most donations coming from individual donors. Reports indicated that part of the funding came from FTX executive Ryan Salame, who is currently serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence after admitting to charges including conspiracy to make illegal political donations.
In 2024, Bo Hines ran for Congress again, targeting North Carolina's 6th Congressional District, but he lost in the Republican primary. This time, he did not receive Trump's support, as Trump endorsed the current sitting Congressman Addison McDowell. Now, Trump has directly offered him a job in the White House, even though he had no previous public statements on cryptocurrency.
Before participating in political campaigns, Bo Hines served as a wide receiver on the North Carolina State University football team and later transferred to Yale University, where he briefly continued his football career.
After this appointment, in a related X tweet, Bo Hines expressed to Trump, 'It would be the honor of my life to serve in your next administration,' adding, 'I am very excited to work alongside the talented David Sacks to ensure this industry thrives and continues to be a cornerstone of our nation's technological advancement.'
On December 23, Trump also announced several team members working with David Sacks, including Michael J.K. Kratsios as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. Lynne Parker as Executive Director of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and Sriram Krishnan as Senior Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The establishment of the 'Crypto Advisory Committee' is imminent, with industry insiders vying for influence.
According to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg, the incoming U.S. government is weighing two distinctly different proposals to establish a long-awaited advisory committee for the crypto industry.
Trump and his core team are considering forming a committee with a minimum of 10 members or a maximum of 100 members. This committee will report to David Sacks. Sacks, as Trump's first appointee for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency affairs, will manage two separate committees corresponding to the two areas he oversees.
A small crypto committee composed of CEOs and other senior industry executives is likely to have a greater impact on policy, while a larger committee would resemble a ceremonial information-gathering body with members from a broader range of fields.
Long before the election, executives from digital asset exchanges and Bitcoin mining companies had begun visiting Mar-a-Lago and donating large amounts of money to Trump's campaign.
Recently, leading companies in the crypto industry have been intensively visiting Trump, trying to influence his personnel appointments and policies in the crypto sector. On November 22, Reuters reported that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently met with Trump, and Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire also publicly expressed a desire to join the committee. Additionally, Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) are expected to have a seat on the committee. Furthermore, several crypto companies, including Ripple and Kraken, are competing for positions on Trump's crypto advisory committee. This organized outreach is ongoing, and in November, Justin Sun also stated that he invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial. Earlier in December, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to discuss personnel appointments and regulatory issues in the crypto industry.
It is reported that the Crypto Advisory Committee may be affiliated with the White House National Economic Council or an independent White House department, with main responsibilities including coordinating digital asset policy, collaborating with Congress to develop crypto legislation, establishing a Bitcoin reserve, and working with agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Department of the Treasury.
According to Bloomberg reports, any decisions regarding the structure of the committee will be made in the coming weeks, and the final composition and members are expected to be announced in January. Trump is expected to sign an executive order shortly after taking office to formally establish the committee. Despite the enthusiastic lobbying from individuals across various industries, there is currently no formal nomination process.