Winklevoss Twins Said to Be Pushing Trump to Dump CFTC Nominee Quintenz

• Sources say the twins reached out directly to the president Trump regarding Quintenz
• His confirmation to lead the CFTC has been consistently delayed

Billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss reportedly don’t want Brian Quintenz to lead the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and have reached out directly to President Trump, asking him to find a replacement nominee.

The brothers, who own ryptocurrency exchange Gemini, each gave $1 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, but portions of those contributions were refunded because the donations exceeded the $844,600 per person limit. The twins were the first big names in the crypto world to back Trump, touching off a wave of support from that industry that was integral in the president’s victory last November.

Anonymous sources told Politico the brothers are concerned Quintenz, if confirmed, won’t do enough to alter an agency that’s often been slow to evolve with a rapidly changing regulatory landscape, particularly as it pertains to digital assets.

Trump nominated Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner, to lead the commission in February. A board member at prediction markets giant Kalshi, Quintenz was nominated to the commission in 2016 by President Obama, but Congress didn’t sign off on that nomination before Obama left office. Trump re-nominated him the following year.

More Quintenz Concerns

Another source told Politico that the Winklevoss brothers are pushing Trump to find an alternative nominee to run the CFTC because, citing recent testimony Quintenz, they’re fearful he’ll expand the commission’s regulatory scope, potentially emphasizing cryptocurrency in the process.

For now, the Trump Administration is standing behind Quintenz, but there’s also increasing speculation that some inside the White House are on board with the Winklevoss brothers, agreeing that Quintenz should be pulled in favor of a new nominee.

Prediction Market Implications

Adding to the fervor surrounding Quintenz’s CFTC nod are rumors that he’s losing support in the Republican-controlled Senate due to members’ growing concerns around prediction markets, such as Kalshi, and how those exchanges could affect regulated gaming options in their home states.

The appointment of Quintenz to lead the CFTC arrived about a month after Kalshi named Donald Trump Jr. — the president’s eldest son — to an advisory role. At confirmation hearings, Quintenz has signaled that he believes the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA) provides adequate regulatory coverage of companies like Kalshi.

That perspective could run counter to the views held by senators representing commercial or tribal gaming-heavy states because, due to their status as federally regulated entities, prediction markets operate in all 50 states — a luxury not afforded to traditional gaming companies.

As for the Winklevoss twins, their objections to Quintenz don’t appear to be rooted in prediction markets, but their dissent is a departure from their previous commentary on the nominee. In a February a post on X, Cameron Winklevoss said Quintenz is “exactly the leader the CFTC needs” while his brother called the nomination a “great choice for crypto and for America.”