Trump-nominated Brian Quintenz to resign from Kalshi's board of directors if confirmed

Brian Quintenz, nominated by President Donald Trump to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), says he will resign from the board of directors of Kalshi Inc., the prediction markets platform that lets users place bets on a wide variety of topics, if confirmed.

He has also disclosed at least $3.4 million in assets and major ties to the crypto industry, according to documents released by the Office of Government Ethics.

Quintenz, who served on the CTCF from 2017 to 2021, is currently the global head of crypto policy at a16z, the crypto arm of venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz, Bloomberg reported.

As per ethics filings, he will resign if confirmed. He also pledged to leave the board of Kalshi Inc., a prediction markets company currently in a legal fight with the CFTC over political betting.

Quintenz's nomination comes as the agency faces critical decisions on regulating digital assets and event contracts—areas where he has direct financial and professional interests.

To avoid conflicts of interest, Quintenz has committed to recusing himself from matters involving a16z for two years, unless granted a waiver, and from matters involving Kalshi for one year. He also disclosed that he resigned in February from the Crypto Council for Innovation, an industry trade group.

Kalshi allows users to wager on events ranging from political outcomes to commodity price movements. Earlier this month, the CFTC asked a federal court to resolve its long-standing dispute with the company, potentially paving the way for expansion in political prediction markets.

The disclosure comes as Congress debates who will regulate the sprawling crypto sector, the report noted. Lawmakers are weighing proposals that could grant the CFTC authority over spot markets for digital assets like Bitcoin and Ether, in collaboration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Meanwhile, the CFTC is undergoing internal upheaval. All four current commissioners are planning to leave, and the agency recently dropped a high-profile fraud case against an online trading platform, further complicating its future leadership.

A Senate confirmation hearing for Quintenz has not yet been scheduled.