Brian Quintenz Alleges Winklevoss Twins Lobbied to Delay His CFTC Nomination
Brian Quintenz, President Trump’s pick for chair of the CFTC, has published private texts showing that Tyler Winklevoss (of Gemini) asked him how he would align with Trump’s “lawfare” mandate and raise concerns about how the CFTC had handled past enforcement against Gemini.
After Quintenz declined to promise to reform or intervene beforehand, the Winklevoss twins allegedly went to Trump and requested blocking or pausing Quintenz’s nomination.
Quintenz’s confirmation process has stalled, with no recent vote in the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Gemini recently settled with the CFTC for $5 million over claims of misleading statements in a 2017 Bitcoin futures contract case. The Winklevosses are now pushing for cultural reform in the CFTC as well as clearer assurances on enforcement practices.