Written by: Weilin, PANews
On December 23, President-elect Trump announced that Bo Hines would serve as the executive director of the newly established Presidential Digital Asset Advisory Committee (referred to as the 'Crypto Committee'). At 29 years old, Bo Hines is a newcomer to politics and crypto, and has not publicly stated his position on cryptocurrencies. Before entering politics, he was a college football player and had run for a seat in the North Carolina House twice in 2022 and 2024. Despite losing in 2022 to a Democrat, he received Trump's 'endorsement' in the election, which may have tied him to Trump.
Additionally, the specific structure and personnel of the crypto committee are still being planned. According to Bloomberg, decisions regarding the structure of the crypto committee will be made in the coming weeks, with both large and small-scale options currently under consideration. The final list of members is expected to be announced in January.
Once supported by Trump in his campaign for state legislator, crypto and political newcomer appointed as 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 Presidential Digital Asset Advisory Committee (the 'Crypto Committee'). This committee is a new advisory group composed of prominent figures from the cryptocurrency industry, chaired by our 'Crypto Czar' David Sacks. Bo graduated from Yale University and Wake Forest University School of Law,' he stated.
In this position, Bo Hines will 'work with David Sacks to drive innovation and growth in the digital asset space while ensuring that industry leaders have the resources they need to succeed.' Trump stated that they would work together to create an environment that allows this industry to thrive and continue to be a cornerstone of technological advancement in our country.
Previously, PANews had introduced 'Crypto Czar' David Sacks (related reading: The Diverse Background of White House Crypto Chief David Sacks: Silicon Valley Investor, Musk Confidant, Vance's Benefactor), while in contrast, 29-year-old Bo Hines is a political novice with less experience. Some analysts believe that Trump's move may be aimed at attracting younger crypto users.
Looking back at Bo Hines' political experience, in January 2021, Bo Hines 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 district map was overturned, Hines decided to switch to the newly drawn 13th congressional district, but this decision sparked considerable controversy due to issues like his residence not being 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, garnering 32% of the vote, winning by nearly double digits over his closest competitor. 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 win in the newly established 14th district (due to population growth), North Carolina's Democrats flipped one seat and gained another, resulting in a tie of 7 to 7 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 indicated that only 28% of Hines' campaign funding was self-raised, with most campaign 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 contributions.
In 2024, Bo Hines ran for office again, targeting North Carolina's 6th congressional district, but he lost in the Republican primary. This time, he did not receive Trump's support, who endorsed the incumbent Congressman Addison McDowell instead. Now, Trump has directly appointed him to a White House position, even though he had no prior public statements on cryptocurrencies.
Before entering political campaigns, Bo Hines was a wide receiver for the North Carolina State University football team, later transferring to Yale University, where he briefly continued his football career.
After this appointment, in a related tweet on X, Bo Hines expressed to Trump, 'It would be the honor of my lifetime to serve in your next administration,' and added, '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 the Director of the White House Office of Technology Policy, Dr. Lynne Parker as the Executive Director of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and Sriram Krishnan as a Senior Policy Advisor on AI in the White House Office of Technology Policy.
'Crypto Committee' is about to be established, insiders compete for influence.
According to Bloomberg, citing anonymous informed sources, the incoming U.S. government is weighing two very different options to establish a long-awaited advisory committee for the cryptocurrency 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 to handle AI 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 will have a more significant impact on policy; whereas a larger committee will be more like a ceremonial information-gathering body, with members from a broader range of fields.
Even before the election, executives from cryptocurrency exchanges and Bitcoin mining companies had begun visiting Mar-a-Lago and donated substantial funds 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 field. 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. At the same time, crypto departments from Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) are also expected to secure representation on the committee. Additionally, several crypto companies, including Ripple and Kraken, are vying for seats on Trump's cryptocurrency advisory committee. This organized outreach is ongoing; in November, Justin Sun also indicated that he invested 30 million dollars 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 cryptocurrency 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 formulate cryptocurrency legislation, establishing Bitcoin reserves, and working with agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Treasury.
Bloomberg reports that any decisions regarding the committee's structure will be made in the coming weeks, with the final composition and members 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 high lobbying enthusiasm from people across various industries, there is currently no formal nomination process.