Brian Quintenz Drops Receipts: Claims Tyler Winklevoss Lobbied Trump Against His CFTC Nomination”

Edyme

September 11, 2025

Brian Quintenz, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has publicly accused Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss of lobbying against his confirmation.

In a post on X, Quintenz claimed that his refusal to make certain assurances related to Gemini’s legal disputes with the CFTC led the Winklevoss twins to urge Trump to stall his nomination.

Text messages and transparency

Quintenz shared screenshots of text exchanges dated July 24, 2025, in which Tyler Winklevoss forwarded Gemini’s June complaint against the CFTC.

The complaint alleged misconduct by agency staff during an earlier investigation into Gemini’s 2017 Bitcoin futures self-certification process. Gemini had settled that case in January 2025 with a $5 million penalty, without admitting or denying the charges.

In the messages, Winklevoss pressed Quintenz for his stance on the complaint, stressing the need for cultural reform at the regulator.

Quintenz responded cautiously: “I commit to you to having a fair and reasonable review of the matter and the division and individuals involved to determine if they acted inappropriately. The implications of and solutions to this, however, should be unequivocally left to a fully confirmed chair.”

Winklevoss later expressed disappointment at the response, saying he was “surprised” by Quintenz’s lack of engagement and questioning how he planned to align with Trump’s mandate to curb “lawfare.” Quintenz claimed that after this exchange, the Winklevoss brothers approached Trump to halt his confirmation process.

pic.twitter.com/0PdJOdKIea
— Brian Quintenz (@BrianQuintenz) September 10, 2025

A nomination in limbo

Quintenz’s nomination, announced in February 2025, had initially received backing from several crypto leaders, including the Winklevoss twins themselves.

But by late July, the twins shifted their position, calling Quintenz a flawed candidate due to potential conflicts of interest tied to his role at prediction markets firm Kalshi.

The broader backdrop of this dispute lies in the long-running tension between Gemini and the CFTC.

While Gemini has settled past allegations, its June 2025 complaint against the regulator has kept friction alive. Quintenz’s public disclosure now adds another twist to the saga, raising questions about how personal disputes intersect with regulatory appointments.

As of now, the nomination remains stalled, with no clear timeline for resolution. Both Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have yet to respond to Quintenz’s latest accusations.