a16z Crypto policy lead Brian Quintenz interviewed for CFTC Chair position: report

Former commissioner and current Chief of Policy at a16z Crypto, Brian Quintenz, is reportedly in the running to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the Trump administration.

According to a Bloomberg report, insider sources who wish to stay anonymous claimed that the former Republican Commodity Futures Trading Commission commissioner has been interviewed for the position of CFTC Chairman.

Quintenz currently holds the position of policy lead at a16z Crypto, the digital asset firm under venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz. Although, Quintenz himself and a spokesman for a16z refused to comment on the matter.

Moreover, a spokesperson from Trump’s transition team also has not responded to Bloomberg’s request for comment. The transition team has reportedly finished interviewing potential candidates to lead the regulatory agency. The announcement that will reveal who is going to be the next CFTC Chairman is expected to come in the next couple of days.

Under the Trump administration, the CFTC has been poised to have an even bigger role in regulating digital assets and other crypto-related products, such as Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum spot ETF. The agency will also supervise the options market, which has released several crypto products this year,

As previously reported by crypto.news, the move is seen as Trump’s attempt to move more regulatory power to the CFTC from the Securities and Exchange Commission after its aggressive approach towards crypto during Biden’s term.

Aside from Quintenz, other major industry figures allegedly being considered for the role include current Republican CFTC Commissioners Summer Mersinger and Caroline Pham as well as lawyers and former CFTC officials Joshua Sterling and Neal Kumar.

Brian Quintenz has a resume that includes experience working in both digital assets and traditional finance sectors. Before joining CFTC, he established the hedge fund firm Saeculum Capital Management and worked on Capitol Hill.

While serving as a commissioner at the CFTC from 2017 until 2021, he advocated for the agency to open itself up to new kinds of financial services, including digital asset derivatives and event contracts, which allow retail traders to bet on outcomes of major decisions and events in the world.

Since joining the a16z, Quintenz has heralded more regulations for the industry, as well as joining the board of Kalshi Inc, one of the first CFTC-regulated prediction markets.