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The White House is weighing fresh candidates for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair role as the Quintenz-Gemini dispute complicates the confirmation of President Trump’s nominee, Brian Quintenz. The nomination, announced earlier this year, has yet to progress in the Senate after weeks of delay.
According to a Bloomberg report , potential replacements include Michael Selig, chief counsel to the SEC’s crypto task force, and Tyler Williams, a counselor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on digital-asset policy and a former Galaxy Digital executive. Neither has publicly commented, while the CFTC continues under Acting Chair Caroline Pham, with several commissioner seats still vacant.
The Quintenz-Gemini dispute has become central to the holdup, casting doubt on whether Quintenz will ultimately secure the post.
At the core of the Quintenz-Gemini dispute are claims that Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss attempted to influence Quintenz’s potential leadership of the CFTC. Earlier this month, Quintenz published screenshots on X that he said showed private messages exchanged with Winklevoss in late July.
In those messages, Winklevoss allegedly urged Quintenz to intervene in a Gemini complaint against the CFTC and to reassure the exchange about how such matters would be handled if he became chair. Quintenz stated that after he declined to provide assurances, efforts were made to stall or block his nomination.
“The president might have been misled by the Gemini founders,” — Brian Quintenz said.
The Gemini founders have not publicly responded, leaving questions unanswered about the extent of their role in the nomination’s delay.
The Quintenz-Gemini dispute is not isolated but part of a broader history of friction between the crypto exchange and the CFTC. In 2022, the commission brought an enforcement action against Gemini that concluded with a $5 million settlement earlier this year. Following that outcome, Gemini filed an inspector-general complaint accusing the CFTC of “lawfare trophy hunting,” claiming the enforcement was politically motivated.
The text messages released by Quintenz appeared to show Winklevoss pressing for assurances that a future CFTC chair would handle such disputes differently. While unverified, the allegations underscore ongoing mistrust between regulators and leading crypto firms.
Although the White House has not officially abandoned Quintenz, reports suggest his nomination is unlikely to advance without resolution of the Quintenz-Gemini dispute. With acting leadership in place and unfilled commissioner roles, the CFTC’s regulatory agenda remains partially stalled.
Industry observers note that the Quintenz-Gemini dispute illustrates the complex relationship between digital-asset platforms and their regulators at a time when oversight is tightening. As the confirmation process remains frozen, the White House faces mounting pressure to either reaffirm Quintenz or pivot decisively to alternative candidates.
“The nomination process has stalled, and my confirmation remains uncertain,” — Brian Quintenz, in remarks reported by Bloomberg.
For now, the dispute continues to cloud the future leadership of the CFTC, underscoring the fragile balance between political decision-making and regulatory independence.
