CFTC chair nominee Brian Quintenz on Wednesday made public what he says are Signal screenshots of a July 24 exchange with Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, alleging the twins tried to pressure and ultimately derail his confirmation.
The images, posted by Quintenz on X, show a back-and-forth where the Winklevosses pressed the nominee about a complaint Gemini filed over the agency’s conduct during an investigation. Gemini was sued by the regulator in 2022 for allegedly making “material false or misleading statements”, and the company settled in January, paying $5 million without admitting wrongdoing.
Quintenz says the brothers warned they might contact President Trump directly and that, after that outreach, a Senate committee vote on his nomination was pulled at the White House’s request. In his public post he framed the episode as an attempt to extract promises from him on CFTC reform, which he says he refused to make.
The stakes go beyond personalities. Quintenz — formerly a CFTC commissioner and now head of global policy at Andreessen Horowitz — has been a long-delayed pick to chair the agency. Supporters in crypto lobbying circles have urged the White House to back his nomination as lawmakers consider crypto market structure legislation that would expand the CFTC’s authority over large parts of the digital-asset economy.
Why it matters: if true, the exchange illustrates how industry actors may try to influence regulator appointments at a critical moment for rulemaking. That raises questions about regulatory capture and the independence of enforcement decisions — issues investors and firms should monitor as the legislative and rulemaking picture evolves.
Source: Decrypt. Read the original coverage for full details.