David Sacks Steps Away From White House Crypto Role – Leaving CLARITY Act, Bitcoin Reserve In Limbo

• The CLARITY Act, a key bill on crypto market structure, remains stalled in the Senate over disagreements over stablecoin rewards.
• The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has not progressed beyond an executive framework and still requires congressional approval.
• Earlier this week, David Sacks was appointed co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology alongside Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios.

David Sacks has reached the end of his tenure as the White House’s AI and Crypto Czar, leaving two of his most closely watched initiatives, the CLARITY Act and the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, still stuck in limbo.

Sacks’ 130-day stint as a Special Government Employee (SGE) ended without a successor named to oversee crypto policy. Earlier this week, he was appointed co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) alongside Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios.

“I think moving forward as co-chair of PCAST, I can now make recommendations on not just AI but an expanded range of technology topics,” Sacks told Bloomberg.

CLARITY Act’s Fate Still Undecided 

The Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, the landmark market structure bill the crypto industry has spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying to pass, has yet to reach the Senate floor. 

The legislation passed the House in July 2025 with bipartisan backing but has stalled in the Senate since January. The primary sticking point remains a dispute between banks and crypto firms over how stablecoin rewards should be treated.

The latest draft language would allow rewards programs under limited conditions, provided they do not resemble traditional bank deposit interest. Industry participants have raised concerns that the provisions are too restrictive and lack clarity.

Lawmakers are also reportedly considering additional elements, including potential deregulation measures for community banks, decentralized finance provisions, and ethics rules that would bar senior officials from profiting from crypto assets. The Senate Banking Committee is targeting a markup in the second half of April, though the timeline remains uncertain.

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Awaits Legislative Path

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is another initiative Sacks helped shepherd. Trump's administration determined it needed congressional action to operationalize the reserve, with his executive order establishing it has now waited a year for legislative follow-through.  

People familiar with the legislative effort told Coindesk a late-year defense bill may offer a potential landing spot for 2026, but Trump's White House would probably have to re-adopt the issue as a priority cause to make that happen. 

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price fell below $67,000 on Friday morning, down nearly 4% in the last 24 hours. Retail sentiment around BTC on Stocktwits remained in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, with chatter at ‘low’ levels. 

What remains unclear is whether the administration intends to name a dedicated crypto policy successor or whether the crypto portfolio will be absorbed into a broader tech mandate now managed through PCAST and Patrick Witt, the White House Crypto Council's Executive Director, who has been increasingly visible in Capitol Hill negotiations, especially when it comes to the CLARITY Act. 

Read also: Nvidia, CEO Jensen Huang Face Certified Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged $1B Crypto Revenue Misstatements

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