The Trump administration has withdrawn its nomination to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a White House official said Tuesday evening.
Brian Quintenz, a16z crypto’s Head of Global Policy and a former CFTC Commissioner, was nominated by President Trump in February to lead the agency, as it prepares to take a bigger role in regulating the crypto industry.
Quintenz initially appeared to be on the verge of a smooth confirmation process. However, after his progress stalled in the Senate Agriculture Committee, he accused Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of obstructing his confirmation.
Earlier this month, Quintenz also revealed a series of private messages between himself and the Winklevoss twins, which he said showed Trump was being manipulated.
On social media site X, he believes his nomination was delayed by evidence of text messages between Winklevoss and President Donald Trump.
However, he also warned Winklevoss to think twice if any CFTC officials tried to reach out in an attempt to revoke his appointment.
Winklevoss was reportedly not satisfied with the answer and then questioned how Quintenz would align his actions with Trump’s agenda.
Meanwhile, the White House is reportedly looking at other candidates. Former senior CFTC official Josh Sterling is now among those being considered for the position, according to a Semafor report.
Bloomberg also reported that Michael Selig, the lead attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Crypto Task Force, and Tyler Williams, an advisor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on digital asset policy, are also on the list.
