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- Quintenz accuses Gemini founders of trying to block his CFTC chairman nomination over lawsuit concerns.
- Tyler Winklevoss questioned Quintenz about regulatory actions ahead of Gemini’s planned $3B Nasdaq listing.
- Gemini files a complaint claiming CFTC lawyers misused authority and misrepresented facts in a legal battle.
Brian Quintenz, the former commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has claimed that Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini, have sought to block his entry as agency chairman. This allegation was made in a post on X on September 9, to which Quintenz provided a series of text messages in which the twins approached him about a lawsuit filed in 2022 regarding this exchange.
The communications on July 24 revealed that Tyler Winklevoss required some assurance from Quintenz concerning his attitude to the suit and future regulation. Tyler posed the question of whether Quintenz was going to fit within the mandate of President Trump to cease what they called lawfare against Gemini. He even encouraged him to bring up the matter to the President in case Quintenz was facing opposition on the CFTC.
CFTC Nomination Stalled Over Gemini’s Regulatory Concerns
Quintenz replied that a completely confirmed chair should make any decision after passing by the Senate. He emphasized that internal and external pressures should not affect such things. Nevertheless, Quintenz pointed out that the White House intervened by requesting the Senate Agriculture Committee to postpone his nomination. Which led to the delay in the confirmation process.
This development plays an important role in its timing. Gemini is planning to be listed on Nasdaq at a market capitalization of $3 billion. According to Quintenz, the Winklevoss twins feared regulatory questioning over their intended listing. He claimed that they were reaching out as a way of bending an independent regulator to their benefit.
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Gemini Denies CFTC’s Misleading Charges in Bitcoin Futures Case
In June 2022, Gemini initiated legal action against the CFTC. The agency charged Gemini with bank statements that it claimed were misleading in its efforts to roll out the first U.S.-regulated Bitcoin futures contract in 2017.
Gemini has refuted the allegations. In June 2025, the exchange submitted an official complaint to the Office of Inspector General of the CFTC accusing the agency of misusing its authority with the case.
Gemini alleged CFTC attorneys were seeking a high-profile case wrongly and were presenting falsehoods and consuming taxpayers’ funds. Tyler Winklevoss publicized the allegations and, until reform in the agency, defined the activities of the CFTC as lawfare trophy hunting.
Neither Cameron Winklevoss nor Tyler has made any public statements after the accusations denied by Quintenz. The CFTC does not say anything either, and the outcome of this dispute remains unclear.
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