Bo Hines, the executive director of US president Donald Trump’s White House Crypto Council, announced he is stepping down on Saturday.
Hines, who was appointed by the president to lead the advisory group in December 2024, said he is stepping down to rejoin the private sector and thanked the crypto community for its “unwavering” support. He wrote on Saturday:
“Serving in President Trump’s administration and working alongside our brilliant AI & Crypto Czar, David Sacks, as Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council, has been the honor of a lifetime. Together, we have positioned America as the crypto capital of the world.”
Although a successor has not yet been named, independent crypto reporter Eleanor Terrett said that Hines’ deputy director, Patrick Witt, will likely be appointed to the position.
The White House Crypto Council published a comprehensive report proposing a regulatory action plan for digital assets in the US in July. Although the advisory group has been instrumental in guiding policy efforts, critics say the council underdelivered on the strategic BTC reserve.
Related: Donald Trump to get on with Bitcoin reserve ‘in short order’ — Bo Hines
Hines advocated for the accumulation of BTC through budget-neutral strategies
President Trump signed an executive order establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve and a national crypto stockpile in January. However, the order limited how the government could acquire additional BTC.
The executive order prohibits the federal government from selling any of the US government’s accumulated BTC and directs the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department to find “budget-neutral” strategies to accumulate more of the digital currency.
Budget-neutral strategies mean that the only way the US government can acquire new BTC for the reserve is through asset seizures or ways that do not create additional burdens on the US public budget.
In March, Hines suggested that the US government should revalue its gold holdings, which are priced at $42.22 per troy ounce, while gold trades at about $3,400 per ounce on the spot market.
A portion of the revalued gold could then be converted to BTC, increasing the size of the national Bitcoin reserve, without creating a budget expense.
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