The Trump administration has withdrawn its nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a White House official confirmed Tuesday evening.
Brian Quintenz, global head of policy at a16z crypto and a former CFTC commissioner, was tapped by President Trump in February to lead the agency, as it prepares to take on a larger role regulating the crypto industry.
Quintenz initially appeared poised for an easy confirmation process. However, after his progress stalled in the Senate Agriculture Committee, he accused crypto billionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of impeding his confirmation.
He shared a series of private messages between himself and the Winklevoss twins earlier this month, suggesting that Trump “might have been misled.”
“I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise,” Quintenz wrote on the social platform X. “It’s my understanding that after this exchange they contacted the President and asked that my confirmation be paused for reasons other than what is reflected in these texts.”
In the exchange, Tyler Winklevoss asked Quintenz for his thoughts on a complaint that his crypto exchange Gemini had filed with the CFTC’s inspector general. Quintenz committed to “having a fair and reasonable review of the matter.”
However, he also cautioned Winklevoss to give “careful thought” if anyone at the CFTC is “communicating with you in attempt to undermine or color my potential consideration of these things.”
Winklevoss did not appear to take kindly to Quintenz’s response and questioned the CFTC nominee about how he planned to align with Trump’s agenda.
The White House has reportedly been vetting other candidates. Former senior CFTC official Josh Sterling is under consideration for the job, according to Semafor.
Bloomberg reported that Michael Selig, chief counsel to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force, and Tyler Williams, counselor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on digital asset policy, are also candidates.
