Withdrawn after pushback from the Winklevoss twins, the pick shared texts he says show what he refused to promise, leaving the CFTC under Acting Chair Caroline Pham.
(Photo of Tabrez Syed on Unsplash)
Posted October 1, 2025 at 9:33 am EST.
The Trump administration has officially withdrawn Brian Quintenz’s nomination to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Quintenz, previously a CFTC commissioner and head of crypto policy at Andreessen Horowitz, was initially seen as a pro-crypto advocate who had widespread support in the industry.
The withdrawal comes after significant opposition from Gemini co-founders and major Trump donors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who reportedly lobbied to rescind Quintenz’s nomination.
This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.
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After learning of those efforts, Quintenz had shared a series of private texts between himself and Tyler Winklevoss, in which Winklevoss sought assurances around the handling of Gemini’s ongoing regulatory dispute with the CFTC. Quintenz declined to offer them.
“I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise,” he said.
The CFTC is currently operating with only Acting Chair Caroline Pham.
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