Original source: Fortune
Compiled and edited by: BitpushNews
When Donald Trump held his first cryptocurrency summit at the White House in March, he was surrounded by several of his top advisers, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to his right and venture capital mogul David Sacks, head of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, to his left. But next to Sacks was a figure who was a complete stranger to everyone in the room a few months ago: Bo Hines, a 29-year-old former congressional candidate and college football wide receiver. He had helped handle advertising for the Trump campaigns top super PAC, and Trump had appointed Hines to lead an aggressive plan to develop cryptocurrency-friendly regulatory policies and overturn the Biden administrations crackdown on the industry.
U.S. President Trump with David Sacks (center) and Bo Hines at the White House Digital Asset Summit on March 7, 2025
From unknown to famous
In his first 30 days as executive director of the President’s Digital Asset Advisory Committee, Bo Hines has become a popular figure in the cryptocurrency space, with CEOs and billionaire investors scrambling to book his appointments and lobbyists vying for face-to-face meetings with him.
Bo Hines schedule, obtained by Fortune through the Freedom of Information Act, shows that in his first 30 days in the position, he met with more than 50 cryptocurrency lobbyists, investors, company founders, agency officials, and bankers. His meetings included Chris Dixon and Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Caroline Butler, head of digital assets at Bank of New York Mellon.
Some of these meetings took place at the White House, others in cafes, Zoom video conferences, or the Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington’s oldest dining salon.
“I want to meet everyone in this space—the big players, the small players,” Hines told Fortune during a recent interview at Tatte, an Israeli-American coffee shop near the White House. “I want to hear what everyone thinks.”
Although David Sacks has decades of business experience and a higher position thanks to his early experience at PayPal and Craft Ventures, the little-known Hines has taken on more day-to-day tasks because he is a part-time government employee (limited to 130 days per year). A spokesman for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) insisted that the two are working side by side.
From his desk on the fourth floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Hines has become one of the most influential figures in the crypto world. He is effectively the primary liaison between the White House and the cryptocurrency industry, working to translate industry grievances into concrete policy.
Hines faces more challenges as Trumps tariff offensive roils global markets and causes wild swings in digital asset prices. Trumps erratic economic policies have caused a plunge in the share prices of blockchain-related companies, and a potential economic crisis could further depress the crypto market, which is increasingly tied to the traditional stock market. In short, Trumps on-again, off-again tariff war could reverse the economic progress the blockchain industry has made in recent years.
To understand the early months of Trump’s cryptocurrency agenda and the people trying to execute it, Fortune interviewed the young man and more than a dozen people who have met or spoken with him since January. Most requested anonymity because the conversations were private.
They describe Hines as a fast learner despite his lack of crypto experience, eager to understand a rebellious industry seeking legitimization — even as it is mired in factional fighting. “He’s like drinking from a fire hose,” said a cryptocurrency executive and Washington insider. “For anyone in the crypto space, he’s the industry’s first point of entry to the White House.”
Encryption – From the Edge to the Center
When Hines’ spokesperson suggested a meeting at Tatte’s near the White House, he had been delayed by a previous meeting and had gone to the wrong two branches. When he finally arrived at the third Tatte of the day (wearing a dark gray suit and a smile), he immediately jumped into the topic of cryptocurrency.
Hines, with his clean face and neat hair, has a capable temperament honed from two failed congressional campaigns in North Carolina in 2022 and 2024. He speaks quickly and answers decisively, repeatedly praising Trump and insisting that crypto regulation should be a bipartisan consensus. Obviously, the 29-year-old does not want to be seen as a political rookie, but rather as a Trump ally who can get things done.
“We respect the president, admire his work, and respect his America First stance — and crypto is no exception.”
The crypto industry, once dominated by outsiders and government skeptics, has moved closer to Washington politicians in recent years. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried once spent tens of millions of dollars to support pro-blockchain politicians in an attempt to promote comprehensive regulatory legislation. But as its exchange collapsed, the Biden administration launched enforcement actions and sued leading companies such as Coinbase (the SEC accused it of not registering in compliance).
Led by industry giants such as Coinbase, blockchain-related groups and individuals donated nearly $250 million to pro-crypto politicians from both parties in the last election cycle. The effort finally paid off: Trump, who once called Bitcoin a scam, transformed himself into a crypto evangelist. During the campaign, he promised to establish a federal Bitcoin reserve, promote crypto-friendly legislation, and attracted support from top venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, who had complained about being snubbed by the previous administration.
After winning the election in November 2024, Trump began to fulfill his promises, including appointing Solana supporters David Sacks and Hines to the Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Executive Office of the President. After taking office, Trump signed several executive orders: establishing an encryption policy working group led by David Sacks, establishing a government strategic encryption reserve, etc.
Unlike the Biden administration, Hines has become a friendly interface for industry executives and policy advisers. An executive who has met with Hines five times said that because David Sacks has limited time and needs to take into account AI policy, Hines is more like an opinion collector for the crypto industry. David Sacks will only meet with the first 20-40 CEOs of large companies, the executive said, Hines can meet with the next 100. A lobbyist revealed that Hines was even willing to take the initiative to provide his mobile phone number.
Trumps crypto agenda includes pushing Congress to pass a stablecoin regulatory bill and assisting the SEC in developing guidelines for token issuance. But for executives, the primary goal is just to get into the room. Although Trump originally planned to form a crypto committee of industry leaders, the White House turned to hosting a summit because of crazy competition for seats (described by an executive). Hines called this a misunderstanding of enthusiasm by the outside world, emphasizing that it was to listen to more voices.
Even the first White House Crypto Summit triggered an invitation war among industry leaders - the final list was not announced until the day of the event, and about 25 executives (mostly Trump campaign donors) were shortlisted. A lot of peoples self-esteem was hit, a lobbyist described the White House as like the Wild West, lacking organization and communication.
Still, the March summit marked a major win for the crypto industry. Hines sat just one seat away from Trump, witnessing the bigwigs that filled his schedule over the past month.
“It’s the White House — who wouldn’t want to come?” Hines said. “For the president to host this event for the industry is a sign of change and a sign of maturity.”
To some observers, Trump’s crypto policy is a bright spot in a chaotic Washington. “It’s remarkable that crypto hasn’t been dragged into the rest of the Washington mess,” said Scott Shewcraft, a lobbyist who works with several financial services companies.
But Amanda Fischer, former chief of staff to former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and current policy director at the left-wing think tank Better Markets, is deeply concerned. She believes that the governments establishment of crypto reserves to support specific asset prices and certain executive orders may erode the independence of federal agencies. Their policy actions will help a very small number of people and companies at the expense of American investors and the stability of the financial system.
The bigger challenge comes from Trumps tariff war. Bitcoin rose from $70,000 to over $100,000 between Trumps election victory (November 2024) and his inauguration, but has plummeted 10% since the tariff announcement on April 2 (part of the rebound was due to Trumps policy correction). Related company stocks have also been hit hard: Coinbases stock fell another 15% after experiencing its worst quarter in two years due to the tariff announcement, and partially recovered after the policy correction.
When Fortune asked Hines about the market volatility, an OSTP spokesperson did not respond directly, saying only that the American people will benefit from the presidents leadership in the digital asset space.
Still a long way to go
Hines doesn’t look like the best person to run Trump’s crypto agenda. Despite his close relationship with Trump, he has limited experience in the crypto space and has had little contact with major crypto companies.
Hines became interested in crypto trading in 2014 after the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl, a college football tournament sponsored by cryptocurrency company BitPay.
Hines later co-founded the Charlotte-based investment firm Nxum Group and led its political arm. According to disclosures from the Federal Election Commission, Nxum donated $1 million worth of billboard advertising to MAGA Inc., one of the largest pro-Trump super PACs, a week before the 2024 election. He is also the CEO of Today Is America, an investment company under Nxum. The company once managed the social media of a conservative youth organization that pledged to donate proceeds from token sales to Trumps campaign.
Hines began a brief political career four years after graduating from Yale University, running twice for the North Carolina House of Representatives (both times unsuccessfully). Trump endorsed him in 2022 but failed to help him win the election.
Since Trump took office, the crypto industry has achieved some of its goals: the SEC dropped its lawsuit against Coinbase and Ripple; the president pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web market Silk Road - a prisoner who was sentenced to double life imprisonment for assisting drug trafficking and money laundering, and had received pardon lobbying support from the liberal camp in the crypto industry.
But Hines still has a tough road ahead. The first agenda is to promote the stablecoin regulation bill (which, if passed, would be the first major legislation in the blockchain industry). Hines said bipartisan consensus is crucial to legislation, but admitted that he has not yet contacted any Democratic lawmakers, saying that Republicans are working across party lines and he is focused on reaching out to policy organizations that have dealings with Democratic lawmakers.
Since his victory in November 2024, Trump has overhauled the way cryptocurrencies are regulated:
Appoints David Sacks and Bo Hines as White House Cryptography Advisors
Signed executive order establishing the U.S. Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Reserve (assets derived from criminal civil forfeiture)
Pardon Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht
The first White House Crypto Summit was held, inviting 25 industry leaders to discuss policy
Abolish the Biden-era encryption policy and set up a working group consisting of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, etc. to promote blockchain regulation
Asking Congress to submit two key encryption bills before August recess
The more difficult task is to promote comprehensive crypto legislation to establish a regulatory framework for token issuance, exchange operations, etc., and end years of compliance uncertainty in the industry. Trump hopes to sign both bills before Congress adjourns in August. We will do everything we can to move forward, Hines said. The president is very determined to deliver on his promises to the industry.
In addition to legislation, Hines is also communicating with agencies such as the SEC (which is moving toward a more relaxed regulatory stance) and considering holding summits focusing on niche areas such as mining, exchanges, and venture capital.
The new dad also hopes to balance career and family - he and his wife had a son last fall. His wife lives in North Carolina about a quarter of the time, while Hines is almost always in Washington. I hope that when my son grows up, he will see that his father played an indispensable role in promoting the financial revolution and helping the United States move forward.
