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

a16z Crypto’s former commissioner and current Chief Policy Officer Brian Quintenz is reportedly in the running to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the Trump administration.

According to a report from Bloomberg, inside sources who wished to remain anonymous claimed that the former Republican Commodity Futures Trading Commission commissioner was being interviewed for the position of CFTC Chairman.

Quintenz currently serves as policy lead at a16z Crypto, a digital asset company run by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz. However, Quintenz and a16z spokespersons declined to comment on the matter.

Moreover, a spokesperson from Trump’s transition team did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment. The transition team has reportedly completed interviewing potential candidates to lead the regulator. The announcement that will reveal who the next CFTC Chairman will be is expected to come within the next few days.

Under the Trump administration, the CFTC is poised to have an even larger role in regulating digital assets and other crypto-related products, such as the Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum spot ETF. The agency will also oversee the options market, which has launched many crypto products this year.

As previously reported by crypto.news, the move is seen as Trump’s attempt to grant the CFTC more regulatory authority from the Securities and Exchange Commission following Biden’s aggressive approach to crypto during his tenure.

Besides Quintenz, other notable industry names allegedly being considered for the role include current Republican CFTC Commissioners Summer Mersinger and Caroline Pham, as well as attorneys and former CFTC officials Joshua Sterling and Neal Kumar.

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

While serving as commissioner of the CFTC from 2017 to 2021, he advocated for the agency to open itself to new types of financial services, including digital asset derivatives and event contracts that allow retail investors to bet on the outcomes of major decisions and events. In the world.

Since joining a16z, Quintenz has heralded more regulation for the industry and joined the board of Kalshi Inc, one of the first prediction markets regulated by the CFTC.