Trump is planning to pick former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz as chair

• Quintenz served as a CFTC Commissioner between 2017 and 2021 as part of the Technology Advisory Committee
• CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham has been filling in as acting chair

US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering Brian Quintenz – a former CFTC commissioner – to lead the agency.

Quintenz, who served as a Republican commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during Trump’s first term in the White House, is currently the head of policy at Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto arm, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg.

If Quintenz is confirmed to lead the agency, it’s expected that he’ll push for pro-crypto changes. These could help establish the CFTC as the preferred regulator over the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In January, Trump named CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham as acting chair. Pham, who has championed a digital assets regulatory framework, promoted the digital assets “regulatory sandbox” in the US in 2023 setting the ground for the emergence of new technologies and a pilot program for digital assets.

In a statement, Pham said: “I congratulate my friend Brian Quintenz on his selection for CFTC Chairman. I worked with Brian on important initiatives that he led to success when he was a CFTC Commissioner. He will do the same for crypto and innovation. I look forward to supporting Brian and his leadership at the CFTC.”

In December, it was reported that Quintenz was in the running to lead the agency following the departure of Rostin Behnam, former chair of the CFTC.