A role that was entirely new came into being, filled by an individual without prior governmental experience. When U.S. President Donald Trump introduced the position of crypto adviser in his White House, he appointed a former college football standout and aspiring politician as the inaugural executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets.
This feature is part of CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2025 list.
Bo Hines, recognized for his time as a wide receiver at North Carolina State University and Yale, as well as for a couple of failed congressional bids, transitioned into a unique role promoting Trump’s pro-crypto policies. He assisted David Sacks, the president’s crypto czar, in advancing various initiatives, including the crypto industry’s most significant policy triumph in the U.S. thus far: the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act aimed at regulating U.S. stablecoin issuers.
While he also engaged in efforts related to the federal bitcoin reserve and on legislation intended to regulate the broader crypto sector still progressing through the U.S. Senate, the GENIUS Act represented the pinnacle of his tenure at the White House.
Hines and his supporters executed a relatively swift push in the Senate, achieving significant bipartisan support and rapid, corresponding approval from the House of Representatives. He celebrated alongside the president when Trump officially enacted the bill, underscoring a significant milestone for his administration.
After this victory, Hines departed the White House to become the chief U.S. executive for Tether, the stablecoin powerhouse that, following the GENIUS Act, aimed to fully penetrate the U.S. market. Hines was succeeded by Patrick Witt, a former McKinsey & Co. executive who also played for the Yale Bulldogs as a quarterback, and he has continued pursuing the same agenda items Hines initiated.
