(Bloomberg) -- The incoming US administration is weighing two very different approaches to a council that the crypto industry hopes will dramatically increase its influence over digital-asset policy.
President-elect Donald Trump and his inner circle are considering options that would see as few as 10 people or as many as 100 on a council that would report to David Sacks, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak on the record.
Sacks, Trump’s pick for the first-ever AI and crypto czar, would oversee two separate councils — one for each part of his portfolio, the people said.
A smaller crypto council comprised of senior industry executives like CEOs would have more influence over policy; a larger group would be more of a ceremonial, information-gathering entity with representatives drawn from a wider pool, according to the people.
Even before the election, executives from digital-asset exchanges and Bitcoin miners had been making the trek to Mar-a-Lago, in addition to funneling sizable donations to the Trump campaign.
That concerted outreach has continued: Earlier this month, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek met with Trump at the Florida club to discuss crypto industry appointments and regulations.
In November, Justin Sun said he invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project promoted by the president-elect and his sons. This week, World Liberty bought tokens associated with one of Sun’s projects. Sun told Bloomberg that he had “nothing to do” with the transaction. “This is their own financial choice,” Sun said.
Any decision on the structure would be made in the next couple of weeks, with the final composition and membership expected to be announced in January. Trump is expected to issue an executive order officially forming the council shortly after his inauguration, one person said.
And despite the enthusiastic lobbying from different industry personalities, there’s still no formal nomination process, the people said.
Sacks, who will be a special government employee and whose role is expected to operate out of the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House, was a surprise pick for the role — as was his dual mandate of AI and crypto.
Prior to Sacks’ selection, some industry insiders had speculated that the Trump team would opt for someone like J. Christopher Giancarlo, who led the the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the first Trump administration.
--With assistance from Teresa Xie.
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