Trump has nominated Paul Atkins, chairman of the U.S. SEC, and David Sacks, the AI and crypto czar. The last major nomination that could have a major impact on the cryptocurrency industry is Trump's appointment of the chairman of the CFTC. Former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz has become the top contender. Coinbase COO Emilie Choi and CEO Brian Armstrong both believe Quintenz is an excellent candidate.
It is unclear whether Trump will make a choice in the coming weeks or months. Cody Carbone, president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, explained on a podcast last week that he believes the Trump transition team has not even made a choice yet, noting that Chris Giancarlo, chairman of the CFTC during Trump's first term, was not nominated until March.
Former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, who currently serves as the policy director of a16z crypto, is becoming the first choice. Although many in Washington, D.C., thought he was not interested in the position a few weeks ago, some reliable sources seem to think he is back in the running. First, he has reportedly been advising the Trump transition team on crypto policy for at least the past few weeks. Secondly, his boss Marc Andreessen and crypto and AI czar David Sacks both belong to the conservative, venture capitalist Silicon Valley circle, and it is safe to assume that what Andreessen considers smart and capable, Sacks will also consider so.
However, there is one factor that may work against him: he currently serves on the board of directors of prediction market platform Kalshi, which is at odds with rival prediction market Polymarket.
In addition, other popular candidates include CFTC Commissioners Summer Mersinger and Caroline Pham, Digital Chamber founder and CEO Perianne Boring, former CFTC Commissioner Jill Sommers, former Director of the Market Participants Division Josh Sterling, and former General Counsel Office Attorney Neal Kumar. (Unchained)