Trump appoints former PayPal executive David Sacks as AI and crypto czar

Trump - who once labelled crypto a scam - embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the 'crypto capital of the planet'

Trump's tech backers generally want to see minimal regulation around artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying Washington would throttle growing innovative sectors with excessive rules. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday said he was appointing former PayPal Chief Operating Officer David Sacks as his "White House AI and Crypto Czar," another step towards overhauling US policy.

"He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for and can thrive in the US," Trump said in a post on his social-media site Truth Social, without saying whether "czar" was an official title.