Crypto industry veterans get key administration nominations
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Brian Quintenz, when he served on the CFTC previously. Photo: Paul Miller/Getty Images
The Trump administration has released a slate of nominations this week, and key positions, such as to head the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and a major banking regulator in the OCC, have gone to nominees with ties to the cryptocurrency industry.
Why it matters: There's an adage that personnel is policy, and the appointment of crypto industry veterans — who served during an era of regulatory skepticism — is further signal that the President intends to make digital assets a priority.
The latest: The most eye catching nomination is Brian Quintenz to chair the CFTC, the country's derivatives regulator. Quintenz leads crypto policy at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and is a former CFTC commissioner.
- Speculation over who would take this role has been hot for weeks — it's the second most important regulatory spot for digital assets, after the head of the SEC.
What they're saying: "The @CFTC plays a critical role in maintaining robust hedging and price discovery markets that are the envy of the globe. The agency is also well poised to ensure the USA leads the world in blockchain technology and innovation," Quintenz wrote on X Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Trump's pick for Comptroller of the Currency, which heads the OCC, has also gone to an alum of the blockchain industry. Last night, the White House sent the Senate the nomination of Jonathan Gould.
- Gould, an OCC veteran and partner at law firm Jones Day in D.C., was chief legal officer at blockchain development firm Bitfury.
Zoom in: The OCC has not been front and center with regard to cryptocurrency policy, but it has had the finger pointed at it in the ongoing debanking debate.
- It's one of the prudential regulators that cautioned banks about serving crypto businesses in 2023.
Additionally, an aide for Sen. Bill Hagerty (R.-Tenn.), Luke Pettit, has been nominated for an assistant secretary role at Treasury.
- While Pettit has not worked for a crypto firm, Hagerty has been a key advocate for the digital asset industry in Congress.
- Treasury is likely to be the ultimate beating heart of crypto policy once the basic oversight issues get worked out.
What we're watching: The comptroller has been identified in some pending stablecoin legislation to play a key role in regulating companies that want to enter the stablecoin business, creating crypto-tokens backed by dollars and Treasuries.
