29-year-old political newcomer Bo Hines has been appointed as the executive director of Trump's crypto council, as crypto companies privately vie for seats
Bo Hines will serve as the executive director of Trump's cryptocurrency committee. The 29-year-old Bo Hines is a newcomer in politics and cryptocurrency, and has not publicly stated his position on cryptocurrencies. 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.Author: Weilin, PANews
On December 23, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced that Bo Hines will 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 in both politics and cryptocurrency, having not publicly stated his position on cryptocurrencies. 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 during the election, which may have established a connection with 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.
Supported by Trump in his campaign for state legislator, a political novice and crypto figure becomes 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 ('Crypto Committee'). This committee is a new advisory group composed of prominent figures from the crypto industry, chaired by our 'Crypto Czar' David Sacks. Bo graduated from Yale University and Wake Forest University School of Law," he stated.
In this role, Bo Hines will "work with David Sacks to promote innovation and growth in the digital asset space while ensuring that industry leaders have the resources they need to succeed." Trump said, "They will work together to create an environment that allows this industry to thrive and continue to be a cornerstone of our nation's technological advancement."
Previously, PANews had introduced "Crypto Czar" David Sacks, 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 at Bo Hines's 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 run in the newly drawn 13th Congressional District, but faced significant controversy due to issues such as not residing within the district. On March 14, 2022, he received support from former President Trump, who called Hines a "warrior for conservative values."
On May 17, 2022, Bo Hines defeated seven opponents in the Republican primary, receiving 32% of the vote and winning by a nearly double-digit margin over his closest rival. However, Hines lost to Democratic State Senator Wiley Nickel by a narrow margin 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 Democrats flipped one seat and gained another, resulting in a 7-7 tie in the state's congressional representation. 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 contributors. 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 lost in the Republican primary. This time, he did not receive Trump's support, as Trump endorsed the incumbent Congressman Addison McDowell instead. Now, Trump has directly appointed him to a White House position, even though he had not previously made any public statements regarding cryptocurrencies.
Before entering political campaigns, Bo Hines played as a wide receiver for the North Carolina State University football team, later transferring to Yale University, where he briefly continued his football career.
Following 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 who will work alongside David Sacks, including Michael J.K. Kratsios as Director of the White House Office of 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 for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Technology Policy.
The "Crypto Committee" is about to be established, industry insiders vying for influence
According to Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, the incoming U.S. government is weighing two distinctly different options to form 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 the first appointee responsible for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency affairs under Trump, 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 greater impact on policy; whereas a larger committee will function more like a ceremonial information-gathering body, with members from a broader range of fields.
Even before the election, executives from digital asset exchanges and Bitcoin mining companies had begun visiting Mar-a-Lago and donating substantial amounts 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 space. 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, the crypto divisions of Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) are expected to secure a seat on the committee. Furthermore, several crypto companies, including Ripple and Kraken, are competing for seats on Trump's crypto advisory committee. This organized outreach is ongoing; 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 fall under the White House National Economic Council or an independent White House department, with primary responsibilities including coordinating digital asset policy, collaborating with Congress to develop crypto legislation, establishing Bitcoin reserves, and working with agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Treasury Department.
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 heightened lobbying enthusiasm from various industry figures, there is currently no formal nomination process.
