Bo Hines, the executive director of US president Donald Trump’s White House Crypto Council, announced he is stepping down on Saturday.

Hines, who was appointed by the president to lead the advisory group in December 2024, said he is stepping down to rejoin the private sector and thanked the crypto community for its “unwavering” support. He wrote on Saturday:

“Serving in President Trump’s administration and working alongside our brilliant AI & Crypto Czar, David Sacks, as Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council, has been the honor of a lifetime. Together, we have positioned America as the crypto capital of the world.”

Although a successor has not yet been named, independent crypto reporter Eleanor Terrett said that Hines’ deputy director, Patrick Witt, will likely be appointed to the position. 

The White House Crypto Council published a comprehensive report proposing a regulatory action plan for digital assets in the US in July. Although the advisory group has been instrumental in guiding policy efforts, critics say the council underdelivered on the strategic BTC reserve.

Related: Donald Trump to get on with Bitcoin reserve ‘in short order’ — Bo Hines

Hines advocated for the accumulation of BTC through budget-neutral strategies

President Trump signed an executive order establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve and a national crypto stockpile in January. However, the order limited how the government could acquire additional BTC.

The executive order prohibits the federal government from selling any of the US government’s accumulated BTC and directs the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department to find “budget-neutral” strategies to accumulate more of the digital currency.

Budget-neutral strategies mean that the only way the US government can acquire new BTC for the reserve is through asset seizures or ways that do not create additional burdens on the US public budget.

In March, Hines suggested that the US government should revalue its gold holdings, which are priced at $42.22 per troy ounce, while gold trades at about $3,400 per ounce on the spot market.

A portion of the revalued gold could then be converted to BTC, increasing the size of the national Bitcoin reserve, without creating a budget expense.

Magazine: Crypto has 4 years to grow so big ‘no one can shut it down’: Kain Warwick, Infinex

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bo-hines-director-of-the-white-house-crypto-council-steps-down/feed/ 0 52392 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/semler-scientific-has-appointed-joe-burnett-as-director-of-bitcoin-strategy-targeting-105000-btc-by-2027/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/semler-scientific-has-appointed-joe-burnett-as-director-of-bitcoin-strategy-targeting-105000-btc-by-2027/#respond Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:53:49 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/semler-scientific-has-appointed-joe-burnett-as-director-of-bitcoin-strategy-targeting-105000-btc-by-2027/

Semler Scientific, the second public company in the United States, has adopted Bitcoin as its main Treasury protection asset, appointed Joe Burnett as director of Bitcoin Strategy, and announced plans to accumulate Bitcoin. Healthcare Technology Company holds 10,000 Bitcoins by the end of 2025, 42,000 by 2026 and 105,000 by 2027.

This announcement comes as Semler continues to expand Bitcoin Holdings. The company recently acquired 185 Bitcoin for $20 million between May 23 and June 3, bringing total holdings to 4,449 BTC, worth around $446.2 million at its current price.

“We look forward to Joe joining the Bitcoin Strategy Team and driving his three-year plan to own 105,000 Bitcoin,” said Eric Semler, chairman of Semler Scientific. “Joe is an analytical thought leader in Bitcoin and Bitcoin finance companies. His expertise contributes as he pursues Bitcoin financial strategies and aims to provide long-term value to shareholders.”

Since adopting the Bitcoin standard in May 2024, Semler “has achieved a BTC yield of approximately 287% and a BTC $177 million by June 3, 2025,” Semler said. The company currently reports a BTC yield from the start of the year of 26.7%.

As former market research director for Unchained, Burnett helped support the adoption of Bitcoin on the system by providing joint custody solutions. He previously served as head analyst for Blockware Solutions, helping to launch one of the largest Bitcoin mining platforms in the United States.

“We are witnessing global monetization as a great form of money in Bitcoin,” Burnett said. “The trend to adopt Bitcoin as part of the Corporate Treasury has clearly accelerated. SemlerScientific is at the forefront of the movement as the second public US company to adopt the Bitcoin standard.”

Semler’s Bitcoin strategy includes using revenue from equity and debt financing and operational cash flows. Since launching its market offering program in April 2025, the company has raised approximately $136.2 million through stock sales.

The company acquired 4,449 Bitcoin for $40 million with an average price of $92,158 per Bitcoin. “We continue to use our operating cash flow to increase Bitcoin Arsenal, increasing revenue from debt and equity funding,” Semler said.

A former crypto executive has been tapped to serve as the director of trading and markets at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Jamie Selway, a veteran financial services executive, will begin serving in the role on June 17th, per a new press release from the regulator.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins says Selway will help “ensure the agency’s regulations balance costs and benefits.”

The SEC has adopted a more crypto-friendly stance under Atkins, who has sought to distance the regulatory agency from the high-profile enforcement actions overseen by Gary Gensler, the previous chair.

Gensler launched legal battles against numerous crypto firms, including industry giants Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, Ripple, Uniswap Labs and Consensys. Since Gensler stepped down in January, many of those cases have been closed.

Atkins said last month that the SEC’s “legacy rules and regulations” don’t contemplate the novel use cases of blockchain technology.

“In order for the United States to be the ‘crypto capital of the planet’ as envisioned by President Trump, the Commission must keep pace with innovation and consider whether regulatory changes are needed to accommodate on-chain securities and other crypto assets. Rules and regulations designed for off-chain securities may be incompatible with or unnecessary for on-chain assets and stifle the growth of blockchain technology.

A key priority of my Chairmanship will be to develop a rational regulatory framework for crypto asset markets that establishes clear rules of the road for the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets while continuing to discourage bad actors from violating the law.”

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The deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) says that the law enforcement and intelligence community can use crypto to track down US adversaries and disrupt their activities.

In an interview with crypto bull and influencer Anthony Pompliano, Michael Ellis says that Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies have potential uses amid views that bad actors use these assets to carry out illicit activities.

“We use technology as a tool and Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are another tool in the toolbox. It’s something that we can use to disrupt our adversaries’ use of it and we can use these technologies to collect more intelligence, to gather more information about them. In that respect, Bitcoin is actually very similar to other sorts of advanced technologies and one that we have to prioritize.”

Ellis also says that crypto is not a passing trend. He says that while not everyone in the government shares open or progressive views about new technologies, he and CIA Director John Ratcliffe are helping lead changes in the intelligence agency.

“Bitcoin is here to stay. Cryptocurrency is here to stay. More and more institutions are adopting it and I think that’s a great trend and one that this administration has been obviously leaning forward to.”

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Bitcoin advocate and investor Anthony Pipriano sat down with Beau Hines, executive director of the Presidential Advisory Council of Digital Assets.

The conversation touched on a wide range of policy priorities, from stable regulations and interagency cooperation to tariffs, law enforcement and legislative development, but the focus of the conversation was to actively accumulate Bitcoin without increasing the burden on taxpayers.

“We’re clearly very clear about what we want to get as much as we can,” Hines told Poliano. “I have said it over and over the last few months throughout my time on the speaking circuit, which stipulates that we must acquire Bitcoin in a neutral way that doesn’t cost taxpayers.”

One of the most eye-catching suggestions is to use income from customs duties to fund Bitcoin purchases. This was interesting considering the recent global trade war on tariffs and the recent White House economic forecast that “10% global tariffs will increase the economy by $728 billion.”

“I think we have it just like the president likes to say, ‘many high IQ people’ working on these solutions,” Hines added. “Together, we flesh out some of these ideas and really arrive at the best solution.”

Hines also addressed the senator who proposed the 2025 Bitcoin Act for Senator Cynthia Ramis.

“I think Senator Ramis has some really interesting ideas in the Bitcoin Act,” Hines said. “What you do here is, you reevaluate the gold certificate we currently have with the Treasury… I think most of it is valued at around $43 per ounce… Now we’re sitting at $3,100 per ounce… And what you can do is use that extra fund to buy more bitcoin.”

As Hines emphasized, “There are countless ways we can literally do this. Everything is on the table, and like we said, we want as much as we can.”

Following the interview, Pulliano released the video on his X account. We share his top 10 key points from an interview with Hines.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged television director Carl Erik Rinsch with defrauding a major streaming company of $11 million.

In a March 18 statement, Acting US Attorney Matthew Podolsky said:

“Carl Erik Rinsch orchestrated a scheme to steal millions by soliciting a large investment from a video streaming service, claiming that money would be used to finance a television show that he was creating. But that was fiction. Rinsch instead allegedly used the funds on personal expenses and investments, including highly speculative options and cryptocurrency trading.”

If convicted, Rinsch faces severe legal penalties. The wire fraud charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, while the money laundering charge could add another 20 years.

Additionally, he faces five counts of illegal monetary transactions, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Production funds misuse

Rinsch initially secured funding from a streaming platform—reportedly Netflix—to produce his television series, White Horse.

Between 2018 and 2019, the company paid him approximately $44 million to cover existing episodes and complete the project. However, between 2019 and 2020, he demanded an additional $11 million, claiming it was necessary to finish the series.

Instead of allocating the funds to production, Rinsch funneled the money into personal investments. He transferred the funds from his company account into a brokerage account, engaging in speculative securities trading.

His strategy proved disastrous, and over half of the funds were lost in under two months.

Despite these financial setbacks, Rinsch did not redirect the remaining funds toward White Horse. Instead, he spent the money on lavish purchases, including $1.7 million on credit card payments, $3.7 million on furniture and antiques, and $2.4 million on luxury cars.

He also allocated approximately $1 million to legal expenses, including lawsuits against the streaming company and divorce-related costs.

Additional extravagant purchases included high-end wristwatches, luxury bedding, and extended stays in five-star hotels.

The Trump administration has doubled its Bitcoin strategy, with senior officials highlighting the US government’s commitment to growth in BTC holdings. Today at the Digital Assets Summit in New York, President Trump’s executive director of digital assets, Bohines revealed that the US is determined to accumulate Bitcoin on an unprecedented scale.

“I think it’s time for the president to start accumulating assets for Americans. That’s what President Trump does, not take away from it,” Hines said. He went on to unveil a debate centered on “how to win more Bitcoin in a budget-neutral way” at President Trump’s first digital asset summit at the White House.

When asked how much BTC the government is trying to hold, Hines directly compared Bitcoin and Gold. “You know, I’ve been asked all the time, and it’s like how much you want.

His comments are in line with the administration’s broader strategy after the official establishment of the US strategic Bitcoin Reserve, following President Trump’s March 6 executive order. The initiative will reuse the BTC obtained from confiscation and seizures, ensuring that Bitcoin is under government control as a long-term preparation. The next day, President Trump’s crypto advisor David Sachs highlighted the importance of the move, telling Bloomberg:

Beyond retention, the administration is looking for ways to expand its holdings without any costs for taxpayers. At the White House Digital Assets Summit, President Trump himself said:

The establishment of strategic Bitcoin reserves has already encouraged more legislative measures. US Rep. Byron Donald has introduced a bill that solidifies Trump’s initiative into law, confirming it remains as is for future administrations. Meanwhile, U.S. Senators Cynthia Lumis and Nick Begich have proposed another step asking the US to purchase 200,000 BTC per year over the next five years.

With limited supply of Bitcoin and increasing adoption of institutions, the administration sees BTC as an essential asset for the country’s financial future. “We’re looking at Bitcoin. It’s not security, it has intrinsic conservation value and is traditionally accepted,” Hines said.