- Winklevoss brothers dispute the crypto reform efforts of the nominee.
- Potential conflicts associated with the board working on a betting platform.
- Nomination is reviewed by the administration under pressure.
The Winklevoss brothers urged President Donald Trump to change his mind over the selection of the commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Nominee Brian Quintenz, in their view, is lacking in the vision necessary to spearhead crypto regulation in the United States. This was an unforeseen twist that was seen just as Quintenz’s nomination was being passed to the Senate.
Brian Quintenz is a former CFTC commissioner who has close ties in the financial industry. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who own the Gemini crypto exchange, were critical of him.
According to them, Quintenz is a supporter of the increase in the budget of the CFTC, which does not promote significant changes in the crypto sector. According to the brothers, this strategy contradicts the ambition of Trump to become a crypto regulation leader in the U.S.
Winklevoss Twins Demand Fresh Ideas in Crypto Oversight
The brothers had a weekend phone call with Trump before the Senate Agriculture Committee vote. They said that Quintenz has a record of complacency and not leadership.
They pointed to his recent support of increasing CFTC budgets as a possible roadblock on the way to clarity on crypto regulations and innovation.
Their pressure is said to have made the White House shelve the vote in the committee. Liz Huston, a White House official, said Trump has not changed his mind and still favors Quintenz. However, there are still calls for reconsideration within the administration.
Ethics Issues Raise Questions on Quintenz Nomination
The conflict intensified when emails were released that indicated that Quintenz had people who had requested information about prediction markets that were under the supervision of the CFTC. Quintenz is also a board member of Kalshi, a betting platform that is regulated by the commission, which creates an ethics issue on Capitol Hill.
Tyler Winklevoss has publicly called this out as a conflict with the deregulatory intentions of Trump.
He argued that this alone justifies withdrawing Quintenz’s nomination. Initially endorsing Quintenz. The brothers changed their position following the $5 million regulatory settlement by Gemini and increased conflicts with Washington regulators.
The nomination of Quintenz comes amid increasing tensions between the leaders of the crypto world and the U.S. regulators. The presence of the Winklevoss twins demonstrates how influential crypto supporters can now influence Washington policy as Trump moves towards adopting digital assets.
Nevertheless, Quintenz has been able to maintain close allies in the White House who will protect his nomination. The CFTC is an essential component of crypto in the future, so this is a battle to keep an eye on.
