Author: Amrith Ramkumar, Wall Street Journal reporter

Translated by: Luffy, Foresight News

When Donald Trump selected Bo Hines for a senior position in his government's crypto currency department, crypto industry executives were taken by surprise.

After the appointment was announced last December, several executives recalled that they investigated Hines and found that he had been a college football player and had lost a congressional race in North Carolina, but they could hardly find any background related to Bitcoin.

Now, Hines, the executive director of the Presidential Digital Assets Advisory Council appointed by Trump, has become the liaison between the government, businesses, and Capitol Hill. The 29-year-old is actually the day-to-day executor of the government's plan to promote the development of the crypto currency industry, working alongside renowned venture capitalist and AI and crypto currency executive David Sacks.

Crypto industry executives say Sacks has taken on more of a role in setting the high-level agenda. They also added that so far, Hines' understanding of major policy issues in the industry has impressed them. This Friday, Hines and the White House will host a crypto currency summit, inviting companies from the crypto industry to attend.

Hines said in an interview, "I'm like a quarterback, making sure everyone is on the right route on the field."

Hines is helping the White House push for relevant bills to be passed by Congress within the next five months, which outline the regulation of crypto currencies. He is evaluating the feasibility of establishing a national crypto currency reserve, while also playing a role in overturning the Biden administration's regulatory actions against leading companies in the crypto industry.

Kara Calvert, head of U.S. policy at crypto exchange Coinbase, met with Hines and described him as taking seriously the deadlines set out in Trump's crypto executive order signed in January. She said, "This is a thorny issue that needs to be untangled, and he's doing a good job with it." The SEC recently dismissed a lawsuit against Coinbase.

After pouring a lot of money into Trump's presidential campaign and inauguration, and donating about $170 million last year to elect friendly lawmakers, the crypto currency industry has become an important player in Washington. Trump has expressed support for the industry and even launched his own Memecoin.

Hines, who was supported by Trump, ran for a vacant House seat in his home state of North Carolina in 2022.

Before joining the government, Hines led a "anti-awakening" media company. The company collaborated with a crypto currency project that issued a Trump-themed Memcoin, whose value fluctuated significantly last year.

What many didn't know when he was appointed was that Hines learned about the crypto currency industry when he attended a bowl game sponsored by a Bitcoin company, and has been investing in crypto currencies for nearly a decade. To avoid conflicts of interest while in government, he sold his crypto currency assets. He also studied crypto currency regulation in law school.

Dan Spuller, senior director of industry affairs at the Blockchain Association, said, "He is one of the few who can balance the crypto currency field and Trump's 'Make America Great Again' ideology."

Critics say the desire to bring crypto currencies into the mainstream may have drawbacks.

Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota said, "If you start integrating crypto currencies into the financial system, you have to be very sure that you have the right safeguards in place to limit the potential for harm." She has not yet met with Hines.

Hines will be at the center of the debate on stablecoin regulation legislation, as stablecoins are a widely used crypto currency often pegged to government-issued currencies like the dollar.

Bills that will clarify the regulatory boundaries between the SEC and CFTC are expected to spark a messy debate.

For a national digital asset reserve, companies also have differences. If a national digital asset reserve can bring new government purchases, it is seen as a potential boon for the industry. Hines said the government must first take stock of the crypto assets it currently holds.

According to insiders, in recent weeks, Hines has considered replacing the President's Digital Assets Advisory Council, made up of industry executives, with a series of summits. Trump is expected to speak at the summit at the White House this Friday.

In 2014, Hines, wearing jersey number 82, was a wide receiver for North Carolina State University.

Before recently moving to Washington, most of Hines' life was spent in North Carolina. Football is a sport passed down in his family: his father briefly played for the Detroit Lions.

In 2014, the young Hines became an outstanding wide receiver as a freshman at North Carolina State University, often catching passes from Jacoby Brissett, who would later play in the NFL. He later transferred to Yale University, where a shoulder injury ended his athletic career, and then went to Wake Forest University Law School, where he studied issues such as how the CFTC regulates crypto currencies.

According to Hines' former professor Raina Haque, Hines showed interest in the field, but was not a fanatical Bitcoin supporter. She said, "He's not the kind of zealot who sees crypto currencies as a panacea for all the world's problems."

In 2022, Hines ran for a vacant House seat in his home state of North Carolina, echoing Trump's claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Trump supported Hines, but he lost a close race. His campaign funding came from a trust fund and a political action committee founded by a former FTX executive.

Hines was criticized by Democrats for handing out China-made hats to voters while calling for a "America First" economic agenda.

Hines ran for the House seat again last year, but lost in the primary.

During Hines' playing days, he participated in the 2014 Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl, sponsored by the Bitcoin payment processor BitPay. The game's logo included an orange circle with a white "B", the symbol commonly used to represent crypto currency.

Shortly after attending that game, Hines made his first Bitcoin purchase and then began investing in other crypto assets. He said, "Their marketing campaign was effective."