JAY Clayton

Patrick Witt’s departure leaves President Donald Trump’s White House without a named official leading its digital assets office. The vacancy arrives as crypto market-structure legislation faces political delays and the administration’s new AI role no longer appears to include crypto policy.

Jay Clayton is reportedly close to becoming the Trump administration’s artificial intelligence czar, a role expected to focus on domestic AI development rather than crypto policy. His record as SEC chairman, including the Ripple case and a broad digital asset enforcement push, is drawing renewed attention from crypto market participants.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, widely known in digital asset circles as Crypto Mom, will leave the agency on Oct. 2. Her exit comes as the SEC continues to publish crypto policy guidance, including new material on token classifications, marketing expectations and staking receipt tokens.