# Brian Quintenz **Brian Quintenz** is the former [[CFTC]] commissioner whom Trump nominated to chair the agency while Quintenz sat on the board of [[Kalshi]], the largest company the CFTC regulates in prediction markets. The nomination collapsed in a feud with the [[Winklevoss Twins]]. A year later he is a paid voice for the prediction-market industry. ## Career | Years | Role | |---|---| | 2016–2017 | Nominated to the CFTC by Obama; the Senate did not act before the term ended. Trump renominated him in 2017. | | 2017–Aug 2021 | CFTC commissioner. | | 2021– | Kalshi board member. Crypto adviser to [[Crypto.com]] (2021–2022), which also offers event contracts. | | 2022– | Global head of policy at [[Andreessen Horowitz]]'s crypto fund. | | Feb 12, 2025 | Trump nominates him as CFTC chairman. | | Oct 1, 2025 | The White House withdraws the nomination. | | Jul 2026 | Joins the Coalition for Prediction Markets as senior adviser. | ## The nomination Quintenz's May 2025 ethics agreement showed how close the nominee was to the industry. He held Kalshi stock and unvested options. He promised to leave the board, forfeit the unvested options, sell the stock within 90 days of confirmation, and stay out of Kalshi matters for one year unless cleared. He also disclosed about $3.4 million in crypto-industry assets. Kalshi was then in litigation with the CFTC over election contracts. The nomination did not die over any of that. It died over the Winklevoss twins. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, whose exchange [[Gemini]] had settled a CFTC case for $5 million in January 2025, urged Trump in July 2025 to drop Quintenz. In September Quintenz published private texts from Tyler Winklevoss. The White House pulled the nomination on October 1. [[Michael Selig]] was confirmed as chairman in December 2025. ## After the nomination In July 2026 Quintenz became senior adviser to the **Coalition for Prediction Markets**, the trade group whose members include [[Kalshi]], [[Crypto.com]], [[Coinbase]], [[Robinhood]] and Underdog. A former regulator, nominated from an industry board, has moved back into the industry's lobby. ## See also - [[Kalshi]] · [[CFTC]] · [[Michael Selig]] · [[J. Christopher Giancarlo]] - [[Prediction Markets and Gambling Sector]] · [[Revolving Door]] · [[Regulatory Capture]]