White House Withdraws Pro-Crypto Brian Quintenz's Name From CFTC Chair Nomination

Gemini's co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss opposed Quintenz's nomination.

Updated Sep 30, 2025, 11:53 p.m. Published Sep 30, 2025, 11:36 p.m.

The White House withdrew erstwhile Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Brian Quintenz's information to tally the bureau precocious Tuesday, capping disconnected a month-long combat implicit U.S. President Donald Trump's prime for bureau chair.

Trump tapped Quintenz soon aft retaking office. Quintenz joined task steadfast Andresseen Horowitz's planetary caput of policy, and has been an advisor to firms similar prediction marketplace Kalshi since leaving the CFTC pursuing his word arsenic commissioner.

In a connection to CoinDesk, Quintenz said, "Being nominated to seat the CFTC and going done the confirmation process was the grant of my life. I americium grateful to the President for that accidental and to the Senate Agriculture Committee for its consideration. I [am] looking guardant to returning to my backstage assemblage endeavors during this breathtaking clip for innovation successful our country."

Politico and Punchbowl News earlier reported that the White House had withdrawn Quintenz's nomination.

Quintenz has made statements successful favour of the crypto manufacture since his archetypal word arsenic commissioner, including floating the thought of a self-regulatory enactment for the manufacture akin to securities markets' Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Despite this, crypto speech Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss — some of whom enactment Trump — opposed his information successful precocious July, with Tyler telling CoinDesk that helium did not judge Quintenz's views connected developers and his enactment with Kalshi qualified him for the role.

However, Quintenz released messages helium had exchanged with the Winklevoss brothers earlier this month, suggesting that they truly opposed his information due to the fact that helium would not perpetrate to a nationalist presumption connected a CFTC enforcement enactment against Gemini. In his messages, Quintenz said that it would beryllium amended for a "fully confirmed chair" to reappraisal the CFTC's actions.

Crypto lobbyist organizations and companies wrote a nationalist letter supporting his information successful a precocious August bid to enactment his information backmost connected track.

Still, the White House asked the Senate Agriculture Committee to postpone a ballot connected Quintenz's information a fewer times successful July. Last week, Semafor reported that it had begun vetting caller candidates to tally the agency, which astatine contiguous is helmed by Acting Chairman Caroline Pham. All of the different commissioners astatine the bureau astatine the commencement of 2025 person since left, and Pham has indicated her volition to depart arsenic good astatine immoderate point, CoinDesk antecedently reported.

The CFTC's imaginable deficiency of a imperishable seat comes arsenic Congress considers authorities that would springiness the bureau a much salient relation successful regulating crypto spot markets, though the legislative process is apt to beryllium delayed by a pending authorities shutdown.

UPDATE (Sept. 30, 2025, 23:48 UTC): Adds further context, clarifies that Quintenz joined a16z pursuing his word arsenic CFTC commissioner.

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