a16z Crypto Lead Likely to Be Nominated as New CFTC Chair

Key Points:

• a16z Crypto Lead Brian Quintenz is a top contender to lead the CFTC under President-elect Donald Trump.
• The cryptocurrency industry favours the CFTC as the preferred regulator for crypto exchanges and firms in the US.

According to Bloomberg, former Republican CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz is one of the leading contenders for the presidential nomination to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under President-elect Donald Trump.

Read more: Crypto PAC Fairshake Continues to Boost 2026 Election With Support from a16z

a16z Crypto Lead Eyed for CFTC Leadership Amid Shift in Crypto Regulation

Quintenz, who heads policy at a16z Crypto, the digital asset arm of Andreessen Horowitz, has undergone interviews for the position.

The team of the president-elect has completed an interview process for the CFTC chair, the top regulator for swaps and futures. Among the candidates in consideration are current Republican CFTC commissioners Summer Mersinger and Caroline Pham, as well as lawyers and former CFTC officials Joshua Sterling and Neal Kumar.

Quintenz’s selection would merge digital assets and traditional finance. He founded Saeculum Capital Management, a hedge fund, before sitting on Capitol Hill and working as a commissioner at the CFTC.

The a16z Crypto Lead at the CFTC during the first Trump administration advocated for the agency to open up new financial services, including digital asset derivatives and event contracts, enabling retail traders to bet on various outcomes. At a16z, he has continued advocating for beneficial regulatory policies by joining the board of Kalshi, one of the first CFTC-regulated prediction markets.

New CFTC Appointee for Transformative Changes to the Regulatory Landscape with the Crypto Industry

The experience of a16z Crypto Lead, the new CFTC chairman, could be very relevant as the agency prepares to undergo some major policy changes with respect to digital assets and prediction markets under the Joe Biden administration.

The cryptocurrency industry is one of the strongest political forces in the elections of 2024, having contributed money to finance the defeat of incumbent members of Congress. Marketplaces for event contracts, such as Polymarket, sat for much of the summer under scrutiny through their provision of a measure of real-time voter sentiment.

Earlier in May, Andreessen Horowitz announced a donation to the tune of $25 million to the political action committee Fairshake to promote pro-crypto candidates in upcoming contests in the US. The digital asset industry also favours the CFTC as the preferred regulator of many crypto exchanges and firms in the US.