Quintenz to Quit Kalshi Board if Confirmed as CFTC Chair

A Strategic Exit

Brian Quintenz, tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has pledged to resign from the board of prediction market operator Kalshi if his Senate confirmation goes through, per letter to CFTC ethics official John Einstman.

“I will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter in which I know that I have a financial interest,” Quintenz wrote, vowing to step down from Kalshi and divest $3.4 million in crypto and prediction market assets within 90 days.

Quintenz, a Kalshi board member since 2021, holds stock and unvested options in the firm, plus stakes in Next Level Derivatives and a16z crypto funds.

To clear the deck, he’ll forfeit unvested Kalshi options, sell vested assets within 90 days, and recuse himself from Kalshi matters for one year and a16z issues for two, unless authorized.

 Yet, critics like Timi Iwayemi of the Revolving Door Project question whether these steps fully untangle his crypto ties, especially with Kalshi’s push for election betting. The CFTC’s recent decision to drop its appeal against Kalshi’s election markets adds heat.

CFTC’s Leadership Crisis

Quintenz’s nomination lands amid a “mass exodus” at the CFTC, with four commissioners: Kristin Johnson, Summer Mersinger, Christy Goldsmith Romero, and acting chair Caroline Pham, set to exit by 2025’s end.

 Mersinger joins the Blockchain Association, Johnson returns to Emory University, and Pham eyes the private sector if Quintenz is confirmed.

With Rostin Behnam’s seat vacant since February, the five-member commission could shrink to just Quintenz and Johnson, risking deadlocked votes on budgets or enforcement.

Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated platform letting users bet on events like elections or Super Bowl outcomes, is at a crossroads. Its 2023 lawsuit against the CFTC, which blocked congressional betting contracts, ended in a May victory when the CFTC dropped its appeal.

“Election markets are here to stay,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour posted on X. But sports contracts, now offered in 50 states, have sparked pushback from industry giants like BetMGM, whose CEO, Adam Greenblatt, called for federal scrutiny.

Quintenz’s Track Record

A CFTC commissioner from 2017 to 2021, Quintenz chaired the Technology Advisory Committee, pushing Bitcoin futures and DeFi innovation.

Now global head of crypto policy at a16z, he’s a crypto advocate, backed by figures like CoinFund’s Christopher Perkins, who praised his “principles-based approach.”

His nomination aligns with Trump’s pro-crypto tilt, including Donald Trump Jr.’s Kalshi advisory role. But with no Senate hearing date set, expected by summer, confirmation delays could deepen CFTC’s regulatory rut.