President Trump Seeks to Appoint Former Kalshi Board Member to the CFTC
As it grows in popularity, Kalshi will continue to compete with our best sports betting sites when it comes to major sporting events.
President Donald Trump has nominated Brian Quintenz, a former commissioner at the CFTC, to lead the federal commodities regulator. Quintenz also previously served on the board of events contract platform, Kalshi. Quintenz was at the CFTC from 2017 to 2021, where he presided over the launch of the Technology Advisory Committee and recommended a self-regulatory proposal solely for the crypto area.
Quintenz worked at the CFTC before joining the venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as a policy head. The company is very interested in cryptocurrency and blockchain.
Quintenz's background in the industry implies that he will focus his regulatory efforts on the development and innovation of crypto.
Industry leaders welcomed the nomination, such as acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham, who took up the role on Jan. 20 after former CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam's resignation. The 2021 chairman, Behnam concluded his office term on Feb. 7.
Pro-crypto organizations, including the DeFi Education Fund, viewed Quintenz's appointment favorably, noting that he had defended decentralized finance (DeFi) and policymaking in the U.S. to enable its growth.
The action arrives at an opportune moment when lawmakers and the crypto community urge the CFTC, which is just starting to consider oversight of election and sporting prediction markets, to be more actively engaged in digital asset regulation. Behnam had earlier been among those who sought to expand the agency's powers, especially on spot Bitcoin markets. However, Congressional efforts, such as the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, stalled in the Senate after clearing the House.
Kalshi background
Brian Quintenz doesn’t just have a background working with the CFTC; he also served on the board of event contract platform Kalshi. Kalshi has faced several run-ins with the CFTC in recent months.
The platform received approval from the CFTC to offer presidential election markets ahead of the 2024 elections between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Many experts noted that Kalshi and other event contract sites more accurately predicted the outcome of the election than exit polls.
However, the relationship between the regulator and the platform has been rockier since. The CFTC considered blocking Kalshi’s Super Bowl prediction markets for breaching betting laws, but these markets were allowed to remain. Using a Kalshi promo code is best before taking advantage of the site's offerings.
The CFTC was harsher on other event contract platforms like Crypto.com, forcing this site to stop its football championship markets while the CFTC considered these under special review. More predictions markets are looking to offer similar markets in the future, with the Robinhood CEO sharing that the company was considering expanding into sports predictions.
