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Julia Smith
Author
Julia Smith
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Brian Quintenz, U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), shared messages between him and Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, amid his stalled confirmation.
Brian Quintenz Takes to X Over ‘Paused’ CFTC Nomination
According to a September 10 X post on Quintenz’s official account, the a16z crypto policy head claims that Winklevoss asked Trump to have Quintenz’s nomination “paused” following their message exchange.
The messages from late July purportedly detail Winklevoss’s concerns over what he calls “7 years of lawfare trophy hunting” and largely focus on Gemini’s June 2025 complaint with the CFTC regarding investigative misconduct.
“I believe these texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise,” Quintenz said. “It’s my understanding that after this exchange they contacted the President and asked that my confirmation be paused for reasons other than what is reflected in these texts.”
The duo eventually agreed to chat at a later date, though it’s unclear whether that conversation ever happened.
“I believe transparency and integrity are paramount,” he added. “Protecting the President and his agenda are more important than any job.”
Gemini Pays Up in CFTC Case
The CFTC formally filed a complaint against Gemini in 2022 for “making false or misleading statements of material facts or omitting to state material facts to the CFTC” over the self-certification of a bitcoin futures product.
As a result, the digital asset platform was ordered to pay a civil monetary penalty of $5 million.
“Making false or misleading statements to the CFTC in connection with a derivatives product certification undermines the CFTC’s efforts to ensure all futures products trading on CFTC-regulated markets comply with the CEA and CFTC regulations and, among other things, are not readily susceptible to manipulation,” former Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley said in a statement at the time.
However, it is still unclear whether Quintenz’s confirmation process will proceed.
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