The crypto industry is familiar with two of the names that President Trump announced late last week: Jonathan Gould, and Brian Quintenz.
Quintenz has been selected to lead the CFTC, and Gould as Trump’s choice for Comptroller of Currency. No nomination hearings have been set yet.
Quintenz was a CFTC Commissioner under Trump from 2017 until 2021. He was most recently the head of policy at a16z Crypto. Caroline Pham has served as the Republican Commissioner of the Agency since Trump’s inauguration. Pham was also a proponent for crypto.
Quintenz thanked Trump last week for his selection by mentioning crypto in a X post.
“The agency is also well poised to ensure the USA leads the world in blockchain technology and innovation,” Quintez wrote. “I look forward to working with President Trump’s incredible financial regulatory team.”
“Looking forward to more SEC-CFTC cooperation,” Hester Peirce of the SEC responded, saying that “this time” They will concentrate on the cryptography.
Gould was most recently a lawyer at Jones Day. This law firm represented Trump’s presidential campaign. During Trump’s initial term, he was the chief legal officer at OCC.
Gould spent a few months as chief legal officer at Bitfury – a company that specializes in crypto infrastructure.
For a couple of reasons, the crypto-industry is booming. First, these are two major positions in the financial regulation space — a space that in recent years has taken a harsh approach to crypto.
OCC oversees US banks, which is a part of the financial sector that crypto companies feel has been ignored. These frustrations have been brought out during recent Congressional meetings that examined so-called “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
Recently, a large part of the crypto-industry has urged Congress to grant more authority to the CFTC in order to supervise the industry. This could be the first year that a market-structure bill is passed, with Republicans controlling both chambers. Peirce’s remarks also show that agencies do not want to engage in turf battles.
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