The future leadership of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), already having faced four commissioner departures in 2025, hangs in the balance after the White House withdrew Brian Quintenz’s nomination.
On Tuesday, Quintenz, a former commissioner and head of policy at Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division, confirmed that the White House had withdrawn his nomination as CFTC chair more than seven months after it was officially announced. The withdrawal came following reports suggesting that Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, both donors and supporters of US President Donald Trump, had been pressing the White House to reconsider Quintenz.
Even amid delays for consideration in the US Senate and reports of the Winklevosses’ opposition, many advocacy organizations for the crypto and blockchain industry continued to push for Trump to stick with Quintenz to lead the CFTC.
Representatives from the Crypto Council for Innovation, Blockchain Association, Decentralization Research Center, DeFi Education Fund, The Digital Chamber, Satoshi Action Fund and Solana Policy Institute said in August that Quintenz was “exceptionally well-suited” to head the agency.
“Though we are disappointed [Quintenz] won’t be the next leader there, we are confident the Administration will nominate someone with the expertise and experience to lead the agency into the next generation of innovation-friendly, consumer-focused regulation efforts,” Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone told Cointelegraph.
Among the reported prospective nominees to replace Quintenz were Michael Selig, chief counsel to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Crypto Task Force; Tyler Williams, a counselor to the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; financial services consultant and former CFTC commissioner Jill Sommers; National Credit Union Administration chair Kyle Hauptman, and Milbank partner Josh Stirling.
Cointelegraph reached out to Gemini for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
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The CFTC faces a dearth of leadership, impending departure
Since Sept. 3, following the departure of commissioner Kristin Johnson, acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham has stood in as the sole remaining head of the agency. Pham said in May that she planned to move to the private sector after the Senate had confirmed Quintenz, meaning whoever Trump picks as a replacement will likely have significant influence over commodities and crypto policy.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), another significant financial regulator, is also short-staffed. The regulator has had at least one empty seat on its panel of five commissioners following the departure of Jaime Lizárraga in January.
As of Wednesday, Trump had yet to put forward a name to fill a seat for the Democratic SEC commissioner. The US government shut down at midnight on Tuesday after Republican and Democratic lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on a funding bill.
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