Latest news with #Quintenz
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CFTC's Christy Goldsmith Romero to Leave Agency at End of Month
Christy Goldsmith Romero, one of the four commissioners at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will depart the federal regulator at the end of the month, she announced Friday. Goldsmith Romero joins fellow Commissioner Summer Mersinger, who announced earlier this week that she would leave on May 30 after being named the next CEO of the Blockchain Association, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group for the crypto industry. In a statement, Goldsmith Romero said that derivatives markets, which the agency oversees, "experienced significant growth while remaining resilient and financially stable through times of market stress and volatility" during her time on the Commission. "I wish to also recognize the members of the CFTC Technology Advisory Committee, which I sponsored, for their landmark reports and public forums on future of finance issues," she said. "... Under my sponsorship, TAC released landmark reports on Responsible AI in Financial Markets and on Decentralized Finance, and sponsored public forums on AI, cybersecurity, blockchain, digital identity and digital assets." Acting Chairman Caroline Pham is also set to leave soon, CoinDesk reported earlier this week. Pham has told people she would leave after former Commissioner Brian Quintenz, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the agency, is confirmed by the Senate. Goldsmith Romero had previously announced her departure from the CFTC, also tying it to Quintenz's confirmation. However, the Senate Agriculture Committee has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Quintenz. After that hearing, the committee would need to schedule a vote. Quintenz would then need to be confirmed by a majority of the full Senate, and only then would he be sworn in. Goldsmith Romero's departure on May 31 will leave the CFTC with just two commissioners, and that number will likely remain static after Quintenz's confirmation until Trump nominates up to three more commissioners (two Republicans and a Democrat) to fill the empty seats.
Mint
03-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Big changes are coming for crypto under Trump's CFTC. What's in store.
When it comes to cryptocurrencies, securities regulators may get a lot of headlines, but don't count out the commodities cops. With crypto fan Donald Trump now in the White House, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed cases brought under the last administration against platforms such as Coinbase Global. While the SEC remains crypto curious with a task force considering how to handle those markets, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission still oversees Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with dollar-pegged stablecoins like Tether. The CFTC isn't likely to let go of its crypto authority when its nominee to head the agency, Brian Quintenz, is sworn in. A tech-oriented former agency commissioner, Quintenz has been working at the crypto arm of venture firm Andreessen Horowitz. 'His own background suggests that he will be just as keen and energetic about having the CFTC play an increasingly significant role in the regulation of digital assets—or nonregulation," says Stacie Hartman, a lawyer at Morgan Lewis who represents firms in CFTC cases. Before Quintenz takes his seat, CFTC commissioners aren't taking many Trump-inspired votes—the commission is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. But acting chair Caroline Pham moved quickly to make the agency appear less adversarial. In March, the CFTC withdrew an alert it had issued in Trump's first term that warned crypto's significant risks merited the agency's scrutiny of Bitcoin trading. Crypto products will now be treated like just another derivative. A couple of recent advisories encouraged commodities firms to self-report their violations to the agency. The CFTC eased some penalties and posted a discount list it will apply to fines if a firm reports its misdeeds, remedies them, and cooperates with agency investigators. Those are improvements over the CFTC's past inscrutability, says Rob Schwartz, who joined Morgan Lewis this year after serving as the CFTC's general counsel. 'You really didn't have anything that you could look at and say, 'Here is the policy, here is the discount you can expect versus what they've done in the past," Schwartz says, 'which is a good guardrail." His colleague Hartman has one reservation, noting that fines sought by the agency have climbed steeply in recent years. Federal statutes set the penalty for commodity manipulation at about $1 million. But in the last decade, Wall Street banks paid as much as $800 million to settle CFTC allegations they manipulated markets in foreign exchange or interest rates. Under the Biden administration, the CFTC collected over $1 billion in civil penalties from firms whose traders used WhatsApp and personal messaging for work communications. Until future enforcement cases show the new administration's underlying 'price list" on civil fines, the industry won't know the potential discount for cooperation. 'Over time, there has been a stratospheric soaring away from the statutory basis for setting a civil monetary penalty," says Hartman. 'We need a little time to tell how the [discount] matrix actually gets applied." Write to Bill Alpert at
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Do These 3 New Tailwinds Make XRP a Buy With $2,500?
There are already a plethora of reasons to consider buying and holding XRP (CRYPTO: XRP). But the changing of the guard in the U.S. political system might bring even more tailwinds than there were before. In particular, three new developments could send the coin's price higher than ever over the coming few years. Let's consider each of the new tailwinds so you can assess whether it's worth an investment of $2,500 or more. Per an executive order issued by the new presidential administration in the U.S., cryptocurrencies are now a national priority, and there may soon be a push to create a national cryptocurrency repository. XRP may be selected as one of the assets included in that repository and is considered a front-runner for that distinction by many in the industry. And both are good news for the coin. Even if the repository isn't formed, or if it doesn't include XRP, it's still a very positive sign that it's a reputable enough asset to even be in the running. Obviously, the next important question is: How much buying pressure will the new regulatory environment ultimately create? On that front, it's hard to do much more than speculate. If a government-run repository is mandated to purchase billions in XRP, obviously, it'd be a powerful driver for higher prices, and it'd also become a new element of the investment thesis for the coin. In a more likely scenario, the government would simply retain the coin for the long term if it came into possession of any tokens via asset seizures or forfeitures. That wouldn't create any buying pressure, but it would effectively reduce the number of coins in circulation, which could lead to higher prices by way of scarcity. Keep your eyes open for new developments on this front, as the picture is evolving on a weekly basis. Having pro-crypto regulators should, in theory, create a more permissive environment for cryptocurrencies like XRP to grow, especially when those regulators are implanted in key positions. On that note, Brian Quintenz has been nominated to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), an important regulatory entity that's adjacent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and may become more important than the SEC with regard to regulating cryptocurrency specifically. Quintenz held the same role between 2017 and 2021 and was formerly employed in venture capital (VC), where he was a cryptocurrency policy lead. He also allegedly invests in crypto himself. In total, it's hard to imagine a more bullish personnel pick for the sector. That's likely to have favorable implications for XRP, even if there haven't been any specific policies affecting it just yet. As of late January, the SEC formed a new cryptocurrency task force that's dedicated to "developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets," per the organization's press release. The move is being interpreted in the crypto industry as a sign that the SEC's reliance on enforcement actions, widely considered to be a hallmark of the prior regulatory regime, is now coming to an end. For XRP specifically, that could be very good news, as Ripple, the company that issues it, was previously sued by the SEC for making an unregistered securities offering of the coin. It's also currently awaiting feedback from regulators regarding whether the coin can be included in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), so it has two different vectors of exposure to regulatory risk or upside here. Nonetheless, there is no guarantee that the new regulatory approach is going to resolve 100% favorably for XRP across the board. It is likely that at least some of these tailwinds will benefit XRP. But if you're thinking about whether they are sufficient to justify a purchase of the coin with $2,500, you should probably take a step back. Regulatory risk will continue to exist for XRP even if the new set of regulators are, on average, friendlier than the prior set. It's still exposed to risks from competition. Similarly, regulatory tailwinds won't directly increase the coin's adoption or its ability to generate fees from international money transfers. In other words, there are many good reasons to buy this coin already. You could interpret the new regulations as ancillary reasons for bullish sentiment about the coin's future, but you should base your decision on the core investment thesis, not on ultimately external factors. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $348,579!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $46,554!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $540,990!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of February 21, 2025 Alex Carchidi has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Do These 3 New Tailwinds Make XRP a Buy With $2,500? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CFTC alum, crypto lobbyist tapped to lead agency
This story was originally published on Banking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Banking Dive newsletter. The Trump administration tapped Commodity Futures Trading Commission veteran Brian Quintenz to lead the commodities regulator, according to a document sent to the Senate on Tuesday. The document, published by Punchbowl News, named dozens of high-level government nominations including Quintenz, who has worked in the private sector since departing the CFTC in September 2021, following a four-year stint at the agency. He joined venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as an adviser at the time, and since December 2022 has led the firm's cryptocurrency policy initiatives, according to his LinkedIn profile. At the Blockchain Summit in 2021, while CFTC commissioner, he said that he believed 'a private cryptocurrency oversight body could bridge the gap between the status quo and future government regulatory action.' A crypto self-regulatory organization could have global market significance, he said. 'I think right now everyone's trying to figure out where and how their laws apply to this space,' he told CoinDesk following his presentation. 'If the community takes advantage of that time and that ambiguity there's the potential for a global framework to apply to everyone if there's enough buy-in from the community to do that, since there aren't jurisdictional questions as to which entity has to do what, or rules that necessitate a bifurcation or separate approaches to the regulation,' he said. While at the CFTC – first nominated by President Barack Obama and then by President Donald Trump, in his first term – Quintenz led the agency's Technology Advisory Committee; and during his tenure, the CFTC oversaw the listing of the first U.S. regulated Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts on derivatives exchanges, according to his a16z bio. In an a16z blog post from November, Quintenz and two colleagues shared their thoughts on what this election meant for the crypto world. 'There will still be valid scrutiny from regulators and policymakers of certain aspects of the industry irrespective of progress on new legislation or a re-calibrated regulatory environment,' they wrote. 'We should expect a future where these clear rules will make it easier to identify and shut down bad actors, similar to FTX, while allowing well meaning projects to take off. This will both protect consumers and rebuild trust and confidence in the technology.' 'The previous approach of regulation by enforcement, with no regulatory clarity, both blocked good actors and allowed bad actors, which actively harmed consumers and unfairly eroded trust in the space,' Quintenz and his colleagues wrote. Ji Kim, president and acting CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, called Quintenz's nomination 'fantastic news for our country, digital assets, and the future of America's markets.' 'Nobody better understands the transformative potential of digital asset technology, and how sound and clear regulation can foster growth,' Kim said in a post on social media site X. Recommended Reading BNY fined $5M over swap reporting, violating prior CFTC order
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Plans to Pick Quintenz as Derivatives Regulator Head
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump plans to pick Brian Quintenz, the head of policy at Andreessen Horowitz's a16z crypto arm, to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to a document sent by the White House to Capitol Hill that was reviewed by Bloomberg News. Saudi Arabia's Neom Signs $5 Billion Deal for AI Data Center Why American Mobility Ground to a Halt The Forgotten French Architect Who Rebuilt Marseille Quintenz served as a Republican commissioner at the CFTC during the first Trump administration before joining the venture capital firm. The agency is the primary US watchdog for the roughly $400 trillion swaps market and other derivatives. The nomination has been received in the US Senate and referred to committee, according to a congressional website. Quintenz has been a vocal advocate for regulatory changes that would benefit digital-asset firms and other new technologies and financial products. If confirmed, he's expected to push for changes that could help the CFTC rise in prominence as the preferred regulator for crypto. According to the same document, Jonathan Gould would be nominated as Comptroller of the Currency, and Jonathan McKernan would be tapped as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Gould has been a partner in Jones Day's financial markets practice in Washington since 2022 and briefly worked at Bitfury, a blockchain company. He previously served as a senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. McKernan announced earlier this week he would depart his role as a Republican director at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in order to maintain the political balance of the agency's board. The fate of the CFPB has grown increasingly uncertain in recent days as acting Director Russell Vought — who also leads the White House Office of Management and Budget — has ordered halts to much of the agency's work. Trump picked junior Republican CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham in January to serve as acting chair. Rodney Hood, formerly the head of the National Credit Union Administration, was selected recently as acting Comptroller of the Currency. --With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Stephanie Stoughton. (Updates with details throughout) Why Fast Food Could Be MAHA's Next Target Elon Musk's DOGE Is a Force Americans Can't Afford to Ignore The Game Changer: How Ely Callaway Remade Golf Trump's Tariffs Make Currency Trading Cool Again After Years of Decline How Oura's Smart Ring Bridged the Gap From Tech Bros to Normies ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
