The White House no longer has a named head for its crypto policy office.
Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House digital assets office, confirmed on X around midnight on Wednesday that he was leaving for the private sector. No successor had been named at the time of writing.
A White House official said Witt’s work was appreciated and that “Crypto and Clarity Act will continue to be a priority for the president.”
An office that has emptied out
Witt was the last of the original team still in place.
David Sacks, named AI and crypto czar before President Trump returned to office, stepped down from that role in March.
Bo Hines, the first director of the digital assets advisory council, served about eight months. His tenure ended after the GENIUS Act stablecoin law was passed. Witt, who had been Hines’s deputy, then took over as executive director.
Witt’s own deputy, Harry Jung, has also left, joining Hines’s consulting firm, Nxum.
Why Witt’s exit was expected
The departure was not a surprise. In July, Witt said he had military service commitments with the Georgia National Guard, but he stayed on to see through negotiations on the CLARITY Act.
Where the CLARITY Act stands
The CLARITY Act is the market structure bill meant to set out how crypto is regulated in the US, including which agency oversees which tokens.
The Senate failed to advance the bill in a floor vote about a month ago, ahead of a long recess before the November elections. Some lawmakers have suggested it could still move in the final weeks of the session after the elections.
What happens next
The key question is who the White House appoints, and how quickly. Without a dedicated crypto lead, industry groups may have less of a direct line into the administration just as the bill’s final window approaches.
The White House says the priority has not changed. Whether that holds will show in how fast it fills the role.
