David Sacks, President Trump’s top adviser on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, met this week with United Arab Emirates national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss emerging technologies and cross-border investment in the digital economy.
The meeting followed a White House dinner hosted by Trump on March 18. The president later posted that U.S. and UAE officials had explored
“Ways for our countries to increase our partnership for the advancing of our economic and technological futures.”
Sacks confirmed the private session in a post on X, calling it “an honor to meet with Sheik Tahnoon to discuss AI and cryptocurrency.”
In a statement shared on his official X account, Tahnoon said he spoke with Sacks about “the transformative effects of artificial intelligence,” and “the expanding role of digital currencies in reshaping financial systems,” while also emphasizing the need for “forward-looking strategies” to drive long-term growth.
Digital Policy and Personal Stakes
The meeting comes amid heightened scrutiny of Sacks’ financial ties to the crypto sector. According to a March 5 White House memo, Sacks and his firm Craft Ventures liquidated over $200 million in digital asset-related investments before he assumed his current role. Of that amount, at least $85 million was directly attributable to Sacks.
The same memo disclosed that Craft remains invested in some funds with crypto exposure, though Sacks has said the remaining holdings account for less than 0.1% of his total assets and will be sold imminently. “I didn’t want to even have the appearance of a conflict,” Sacks said during a recent episode of the All-In podcast, responding to criticism from lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren.
The timing of the divestment preceded the White House Crypto Summit on March 7, where Sacks sat beside Trump. A day later, Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, funded through seized tokens and managed by the Treasury Department. A separate U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile will hold other confiscated cryptocurrencies.
Tahnoon’s Expanding Footprint
Sheikh Tahnoon, who controls a $1.5 trillion business empire, has been on a high-level tour of U.S. technology and government leaders. In recent days, he has met Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and held a video call with cost-cutting czar Elon Musk. Meetings with executives from Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and BlackRock focused on AI deployment.
Tahnoon is also chairman of MGX, an investment firm planning to invest $7 billion in Stargate, a $500 billion project to build AI data centres across the United States. The initiative, announced shortly after Trump returned to office, reflects growing UAE interest in U.S.-based technological infrastructure.
MGX recently invested $2 billion in Binance and is part of a larger UAE push to secure access to advanced computing resources following U.S. chip export restrictions.
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