Patrick Witt is leaving his position as executive director of the White House’s Crypto Council for a private-sector opportunity, creating a leadership vacancy at the administration’s main digital-asset advisory group. Witt announced the move in a Thursday post, writing that serving in the administration was “the privilege of a lifetime” and that he planned to continue supporting U.S.
The departure follows a setback for the administration’s central legislative effort. Witt had been the White House’s leading adviser on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a bill designed to establish a broad federal framework for digital assets and clarify responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Democrats sought stronger restrictions and enforcement provisions, while Republicans argued that the legislation would provide regulatory certainty and protections for market participants.
Witt’s exit is the fourth high-profile departure from the council. Former executive director Bo Hines left in August 2025 for the private sector and later became a strategic adviser to stablecoin issuer Tether. White House artificial-intelligence and crypto czar David Sacks departed in March, and deputy director Harry Jung left in July. The announcement did not identify a successor for Witt, leaving the group without the senior staffers who had led its recent crypto-policy work.