Trump Pulls CFTC Nominee Amid Winklevoss Tussle

President Donald Trump has reportedly withdrawn the nomination of Brian Quintenz as Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The move follows a serious dispute between Quintenz and the Winklevoss brothers, who are major backers of President Trump. This has led many to believe that the Winklevosses influenced the decision.

Nominee Withdrawn After 8 Months

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According to a Politico report on October 1, President Trump has withdrawn Quintenz’s nomination for CFTC Chairman. Trump had nominated Quintenz to the position in February of this year.

The US Senate Agriculture Committee canceled two confirmation votes for Quintenz in July. Industry observers initially speculated that his position on the board of prediction market platform Kalshi created a conflict of interest. This was due to the fact that the CFTC regulates Kalshi.

The Winklevoss Brothers’ ‘Lawfare’

However, Quintenz suddenly revealed in September on his X account that someone was obstructing his appointment and named the Winklevoss twins, co-founders of the crypto exchange Gemini. He also made their private messages public.

In the messages, the Winklevoss brothers asked Quintenz for his opinion on a 2022 lawsuit filed by the CFTC against Gemini. The lawsuit alleged that Gemini provided false information to regulators during the process of a Bitcoin futures contract.

Quintenz stated that he maintained a neutral position in his response to the Winklevosses. His public posts suggest that he was dropped as a candidate after he refused to quietly dismiss the ongoing lawsuit, which the Winklevoss brothers allegedly pressured him to do.

He revealed that the Winklevosses had expressed strong dissatisfaction with the lawsuit, calling it “legal harassment (lawfare trophy hunting).”