Brian Quintenz CFTC Appointment in Doubt as White House Explores Other Candidates

The White House is reportedly exploring other candidates to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as Donald Trump‘s original nominee, Brian Quintenz, faces increasing opposition.

Bloomberg reports that sources, who do not wish to be identified, said a slate of potential candidates has emerged, with discussions picking up in recent weeks.

President Trump is rumored to be keen to appoint someone who will push forward his ambition to establish the US as a cryptocurrency hub.

Possible candidates include Michael Selig, chief counsel of the SEC’s crypto task force, and Tyler Williams, a Galaxy Digital executive and the digital asset advisor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Quintenz Appointment Faces Mounting Opposition

Quintenz, a Kalshi board member, has faced mounting opposition to his appointment. Votes on his nomination were twice delayed in the Senate. The first delay was the result of a missed flight by a Senator, but the second was at the request of the White House.

Despite reiterating its support for Quintenz, behind the scenes, there have been discussions about who else could lead the organization.

Quintenz took to X last week to publicly call out Tyler Winklevoss and his twin brother for blocking his appointment. The Winklevoss twins wrote a letter to the President urging him to reconsider appointing Quintenz.

Tyler Winklevoss claimed that Quintenz does not support Trump’s crypto ambitions, commenting, “His stated positions are not aligned with President Trump and the Administration’s stated goals.”

Quintenz, however, reiterated his support for the President and wrote, “I look forward to continuing to support his agenda in whatever capacity I can.”

Others have questioned the appointment. In August, Rep. Dina Titus submitted a letter to the current CFTC Acting Chair, Caroline A. Pham, urging further scrutiny of Quintenz’s links with Kalshi. 

Quintenz said he will resign from his position at the prediction market platform. Still, emails indicate he has been gathering information on Kalshi’s competitors with a possible view of assisting the company.

Prediction Markets Expected to Continue Expansion

Kalshi continues to expand its prediction markets under little regulation from the CFTC. This week, it self-certified prop bets for football games, adding to previous self-certifications of parlays, point spreads, totals, and moneylines.

The platform reported it has seen over $1 billion in monthly trading volume as its sports markets become more and more popular. It advertises that it has made sports betting legal in all 50 states, including Texas, Florida, and California. Over 80% of its trading is now in sports.

States continue to object, with Massachusetts the latest to file a lawsuit against the company. However, for now, Kalshi and other platforms are permitted to offer sports markets across the US, with no state successfully halting their operations.

Even if Quintenz is not appointed, it is unlikely that Trump will put forward a candidate who will oppose prediction markets. His son, Donald Trump Jr., serves as an advisor to Kalshi and Polymarket. The latter is set to relaunch in the US under approval from the CFTC after the organization ended its investigation of the platform.

Jeff Ifrah, whose law firm has represented Trump in high-profile legal cases, also applied for his company to become licensed by the CFTC this week.

Sportsbooks have also been considering launching their own versions of prediction markets, but states have warned they risk losing betting licenses. Arizona joined Ohio in voicing its opposition to any involvement with companies that are not state-regulated.

With a host of legal battles on the horizon, the next CFTC leader will have a significant amount to manage in the near future.