Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and other industry leaders have weighed in on Brian Quintenz, Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Quintenz serves as the Head of Crypto Policy at the digital currency arm of venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
Brian Quintenz nomination, Who is He?
Before serving on a16z team, Quintenz was a CFTC commissioner from 2017 to 2021.
This was after President Barack Obama nominated him. Following his resignation from the agency, effective August 31, 2021, Quintenz joined a16z in December 2022. Later, the venture capital firm named him its global head of policy.
The American financial manager and policy advisor belongs to the Republican party, although he has also served under former president Joe Biden.
As soon as Trump won the United States presidential election in November, he was rumored to be considering Quintenz among other candidates. Effective immediately, Quintenz’s tenure as Chairman of the CFTC under Trump’s administration will conclude on April 13, 2029.
American lawyer and Democrat Rostin Behnam will take over as Vice Chair, succeeding Christy Goldsmith Romero. Meanwhile, Quintenz’s appointment underscores the US effort for a more crypto-friendly stance in the region.
Addressing the US SEC versus CFTC Clash
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also recorded some pivotal moves these past few weeks. It started with the appointment of Mark Uyeda as the interim Chair of the Commission.
Uyeda established a crypto task force shortly after with a focus on setting the SEC on a sensible regulatory path.
For a long time, the SEC was accused of adopting a regulation-by-enforcement approach toward crypto firms. This led to the indictment of several cryptocurrency exchanges, including Kraken, Binance, and Coinbase.
By introducing the crypto task force, the ‘new’ SEC hopes to develop a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets in the region.
While it is common knowledge that both the SEC and CFTC are working towards the common goal of protecting American investors, both conflicts in some key areas regarding the crypto market.
These regulators have fought for control and dominance over which asset are securities or commodities. As of last year, it was hinted that Trump’s administration would appoint CFTC as the sole regulator for crypto.
If achieved, it may signal a new paradigm for cryptocurrency regulation in the country. In the meantime, no official announcement has been made regarding this move.
Is Brian Quintenz Good for Crypto? Ripple CEO Weighs In
Judging by his antecedent in the past, Quintenz could bring much-needed change to the US crypto landscape.
He was one of Washington’s strongest advocates for crypto assets during his first stint at CFTC. Oftentimes, he was compared with SEC Commissioner Hester “Crypto Mom” Peirce, who also held a pro-crypto stance.
Peirce is now leading the crypto task force established on the SEC by Uyeda. The Ripple CEO congratulated Quintenz, noting that he may play a key role in the CFTC’s mission to regulate the most robust capital market in the world.
When Quintenz was interviewed in 2022, he mentioned the need for forward-looking regulations. Quintenz said,
“Some of those things are true, but if you have well-tailored, appropriately calibrated regulation, the ultimate result could be large liquid markets with very strong integrity that become global access points for risk management, hedging opportunities, and price discovery.”
Apart from the change that will potentially come to the broader crypto sector, his appointment may be pivotal to straightening the bridge between the SEC and CFTC.
