Crypto Friendly CFTC Commission Brian Quintenz Set to Leave the Agency

Brian Quintenz, one of the Republicans currently serving as a Commissioner with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has unveiled his plans to leave the agency by the end of the month. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Quintenz said in an interview that he will leave the agency by Aug 31, despite being eligible to stay on at the agency until the end of the year.

Commissioner Quintenz was appointed by former President, Donald Trump at the behest of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), and while his 5 years tenure ended back in April 2020, the regulator has expressed his willingness to stay on at the agency until the Senate makes some new confirmations. However, with his departure, there is bound to be more vacancy, with only one republican left after the former Chairman Heath Tarbert left back in January.

Brain Quintenz is a known advocate for cryptocurrency innovation, and he has often maintained the stance that Bitcoin’s regulations fall more under the purview of the CFTC, rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Quintenz has also been vocal about the need for the stakeholders in the digital currency space to create a self-regulatory framework. As of the time of writing, there are no indications of a new replacement for Quintenz, however, reports has it that President Joe Biden is has nominated acting Chair, Rostin Behnam for a more permanent role.

SEC Vs CFTC: Split Opinion on Crypto Market Control

There has been a lot of mild dissensions between the agency that is best suited to regulate the nascent cryptocurrency industry. While the SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, who himself has served as a former CFTC boss has reiterated his plans to regulate the crypto ecosystem, leading voices in the cryptospace believes a balanced regulation can only be achieved with the emergence of a full fledged CFTC chairman.

As one of the top voice in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with a positive inclination towards the crypto market, Quintenz’s departure which will leave only one Republican in the CFTC will further propound the discourse of filling in the gaps. By and large, there is a need for a robust, fair and urgent regulation to back the growth of the innovation emanating from the digital currency industry. 

The industry is indifferent about which agency gets this done, or even whether it is a collective push by all the market regulators.