PANews reported on December 12 that Brian Quintenz has become a strong contender for the position of chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and cryptocurrency regulation may usher in major changes under the leadership of President-elect Trump. According to people familiar with the matter, Quintenz has been interviewed for the position, and the president-elect's team has completed the interview for the position of chairman of the regulatory agency and is expected to announce the candidate in the next few days.
Quintenz is a former Republican CFTC commissioner who currently serves as the policy director for a16z Crypto, the digital asset division of venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). If Quintenz is selected for the position, he will serve as a bridge between digital assets and traditional finance. Prior to joining the CFTC, he founded and led the hedge fund Saeculum Capital Management and worked on Capitol Hill. While serving as a CFTC commissioner during the first Trump administration, he pushed the agency to accept new financial services companies, including digital asset derivatives and event contracts, which allow retail investors to bet on the outcome of almost anything. Since joining a16z, he has been pushing for friendlier regulatory policies for both industries, including joining the board of directors of Kalshi Inc., one of the first CFTC-regulated prediction markets.
