Trump appoints former college football player, GOP House nominee Bo Hines to head crypto council

Quick Take

  • President-elect Donald Trump announced that Bo Hines, a former college football player who ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in 2022, to lead his “Crypto Council” as the Executive Director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets. 
  • “In his new role, Bo will work with David [Sacks] to foster innovation and growth in the digital assets space, while ensuring industry leaders have the resources they need to succeed,” Trump wrote. 
  • Trump also earlier appointed Stephen Miran to head his Council of Economic Advisers. Miran has previously stated that regulations inhibit innovation in the crypto sector. 

In posts on Truth Social Sunday, Donald Trump appointed two new figures as advisers on economic issues. 

Foremost of concern to crypto investors, Trump announced on Sunday that Bo Hines, a former college football player who secured the Republican nomination for North Carolina's 13th congressional district before succumbing to his Democratic opponent in the general election, will serve as the Executive Director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, which Trump refers to as the "Crypto Council." 

Trump had previously appointed David Sacks to spearhead crypto and A.I. issues at the White House, and refers to Hines working alongside Sacks in his announcement. 

"In his new role, Bo will work with David to foster innovation and growth in the digital assets space, while ensuring industry leaders have the resources they need to succeed," Trump wrote. "Together, they will create an environment where this industry can flourish, and remain a cornerstone of our Nation's technological advancement."

Hines received funding in his 2022 Congressional race from pro-crypto PACs, The Block previously reported. Some of the money came from FTX executive Ryan Salame, according to Business Insider, who is currently serving a seven-and-a-half year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges including conspiring to make unlawful political contributions. 

Hines ran in the same district in 2024, but failed to secure the Republican nomination, coming in fourth place with 14.4% of the vote. Republican Addison McDowell later won the district in the general election with 69.2% of the overall vote. 

Earlier on Sunday, Trump appointed former Treasury Department official Stephen Miran to chair his Council of Economic Advisers. 

"I think financial regulation is excessively burdensome and prevents banks from...lending into the economy as much as they as much as they would. And I think sometimes [that] can really inhibit innovation in areas like the crypto-economy," Miran told podcast The Bitcoin Layer earlier this month


Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Zack Abrams is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. Before coming to The Block, he was the Head Writer at Coinage, a Web3 media outlet covering the biggest stories in Web3. The story he co-reported on Do Kwon won a 2022 Best in Business Journalism award from SABEW. Other projects included a deep dive into SBF's defense based on exclusive documents and unveiling the identity of the hacker behind one of 2023's biggest crypto hacks — so far. He can be reached via X @zackdabrams or email, [email protected].

WHO WE ARE

The Block is a news provider that strives to be the first and final world on digital assets news, research, and data.

+ Follow us on Google News
Connect with the block on