Did the Winklevoss Twins Really Strong-Arm Trump Into Dropping His CFTC Nominee?

The crypto world thrives on drama—and this one's juicier than a Bitcoin bull run. Rumors swirl that the Winklevoss twins flexed their political muscle to torpedo Trump's pick for CFTC chair. But was it market manipulation... or just DC business as usual?

Wall Street's old guard hates nothing more than crypto bros with actual influence. The twins—once dismissed as Facebook also-rans—now command a $3B+ empire. Their Gemini exchange survived the 2022 bloodbath while three banks collapsed. Coincidence? The SEC doesn't think so.

Here's what we know: Trump's original nominee backed strict stablecoin rules. Weeks later, the White House mysteriously pivoted to a crypto-friendly alternative. Paper trail? Buried under 10,000 NFT transaction receipts.

Final thought: When billionaires play chess with regulators, retail investors are the pawns. Just ask anyone who bought Luna at $100.

Will Brian Quintenz Lead the CFTC?

The CFTC is one of the US’ top financial regulators, and recent resignations have reduced it to two Commissioners.

President TRUMP already nominated Brian Quintenz to be the CFTC’s next Chairman, but his confirmation process has hit a lot of recent setbacks.

According to a new report from Politico, the Winklevoss twins have urged Trump to find a new nominee.

When these delays first began happening, rumors circulated that Quintenz’s Board position at Kalshi may conflict with a CFTC appointment.

This new report, however, alleges that the Gemini co-founders and crypto billionaires are exerting political pressure. Although Tyler Winklevoss initially supported Quintenz, this may have changed.

“Some say it’s about vote count concerns, while others point to lobbying from the American Gaming Association over Quintenz’s support for prediction markets. Still others cite alleged unease expressed by industry players like the Winklevoss twins” wrote Eleanor Terrett.

So, why wouldn’t the Winklevoss twins want Quintenz as CFTC Commissioner?

A key clue may come from their reaction to the SEC dropping charges against Gemini. As soon as the Commission announced its decision, Cameron made a hostile statement, requesting “serious consequences” for overambitious enforcement actors.

In other words, there are active legislative efforts to give the CFTC more authority over crypto regulation. Even as a friendly organ, that may still be too much power.

The report noted that Quintenz stated his goal of raising CFTC budgets to better handle new crypto responsibilities. The Winklevosses allegedly claimed that this is “not aligned with Trump’s agenda.”

We saw a similar incident just a few months ago. Although the SEC made a firm pro-crypto switch, Elon Musk’s D.O.G.E. still cut its operating capacity. The Winklevosses may believe that a weak CFTC is preferable to a strong one under Quintenz.

The WHITE House is dumping Quintenz because he supports modest budget increases at the CFTC to address a surge in responsibilities when crypto gets booted from the SEC. Mask off: crypto will ensure the CFTC can’t enforce even the meager guardrails in market structure legislation https://t.co/gM6mtJ3yEY

To be clear, though, this is only a delay so far. White House spokesperson Liz Huston confirmed that “Brian Quintenz remains President Trump’s nominee to serve as chairman of the CFTC,” and that Trump “looks forward to his swift confirmation.”

Until Quintenz is officially confirmed, that could change, but this is a strong sign of confidence.

In short, there’s a live tension between different crypto factions’ views on political power. Is a powerful crypto ally better than a powerless opponent?

These questions have reoccurred throughout transformations at the SEC, and they may persist through Quintenz’s role at the CFTC.